A Black Heart
by Tari J. Deiter
Summary: So it begins! Dr. Marbles made the decision to make two cyborgs. A daughter named Max, and an assistant named Hacker; little knowing one was destined for evil, the other was destined to be the hero of the Cyberworld. Book #1 of Evil Within Trilogy.
1. History of Cyberspace

_**Old Note:  
**This is the start of the story you have all been waiting for. The story that started it all.  
_

_Cyberchase: A Black Heart.  
_

_Okay, enough with the intros. The first part of this chapter is sort of like a history lesson. I don't own Cyberchase, however so far, Siren, Web, and Net Marbles are all my idea. So is Dr. Marbles first name and the idea of him and Coop being brothers._

_**New Note:  
**Okay, so I made one minor change in this chapter. Instead of calling Marbles "Martin", I've redubbed him Matthias._

* * *

Chapter One  
History of Cyberspace

Cyberspace is a strange and wonderfully mysterious place full of monsters and living people known as Cyborgs. Cyberspace lives apart from the human world, separated by an unseen barrier that prevented the Cyber-citizens from seeing the human world, and vice-versa.

In the beginning of life for Cyberspace, the cosmic world was at the brink of chaos. There was no leader. And because there was no leader, war had broken out between cyborgs and robots and gargoyles (the only truly living organisms in that place). The war was designed to figure out which of the species was the most dominant. Of course, dominance always resulted in a bloody battle because no one can agree on anything.

What Cyberspace really needed was a leader. A mediator. Someone who could see past everyone's differences. Unfortunately, no one could agree on that either. Then, a young borg stepped out of the shadows and made history for Cyberspace.

No one knew who created him - cyborgs and robots are created, not born - only that he just appeared out of the woodwork one day. He introduced himself as Siren Marbles and he was an incredibly intelligent borg with huge amounts of wisdom and wonderful foresight. On the outside, Siren was only a kid, just a teenager. But his intellect went far beyond his years. Siren was friends with everyone in Cyberspace – including the gargoyles whom everyone deemed unfriendable – and everyone wanted him to be the leader of Cyberspace. But Siren wouldn't have it.

"I'm just a kid." Siren told everyone. "What can I possibly do?"

"But you're a very smart kid. Your father, whoever he is, was a great borg to have created you. Please, Siren. Won't you take the throne of Cyberspace and end this war and suffering?"

Still, Siren said no. He couldn't see himself being a leader. He didn't think he had the right qualities. His purpose was to be a technician and that's all he wanted to be. That's when Siren came up with an idea.

"Tell me what you're looking for in a leader." he told everyone and he made a mental note listing the qualities they were looking for.

Someone intelligent and wise. Someone who could see the inside of everyone instead of the outside. Someone who could see everything going on in Cyberspace at once. Someone kind, gentle, and just. Someone who understands what needs to be done and why.

Siren understood. He could do these things, but he still did not think he was cut out for something like this. But there was no one else that could. So, he called all his friends together and had them help him on a task that would take years to complete.

They started on Cybersite Nowhere, building bits and pieces of a structure that would soon be called Control Central. With each piece finished, construction borgs would take the pieces away from Nowhere and bring them to a spot in the very center of Cyberspace where more construction borgs were at work attaching the new pieces to the ones already put in place. Once Control Central was finished, Siren went to work making the brain of the whole operation. This was no difficult task and within a few days, Siren was finished. He drew up the design for a terminal to house this program and asked his friends to help him make it. When the terminal was finished and all the system equipment in place, Siren entered the program and the new leader of Cyberspace was born.

It appeared in the form of a woman's face flanked by a hypnotic swirl of red, blue, and purple. Her hair was blue, her skin was light blue on the left side, and a darker blue on the right. She had a rectangular left eye and a circular right eye. Her nose was triangular, she had a parenthesis at the left corner of her mouth, and a serial number at the right corner.

Despite her odd appearance, everyone liked her. She was polite, possessed many of the other qualities Cybercitizens were looking for, and had the voice of authority. Siren introduced her as Motherboard and everyone agreed she should be the leader of Cyberspace. Thus, Motherboard's reign began.

For her first decision as leader, Motherboard appointed Siren as her Chief Technician. It was Siren's duty to perform routine checks and make repairs as was necessary. But, no matter how absorbed he became in his work, Siren became lonely and he made himself a son who he called Web Marbles.

Web worked alongside his father, making repairs and replacing things as needed. As Web got older, he learned how to perform more duties and was soon appointed Chief Technician when Siren grew too old to continue with his work. There were moments in Web's life when he enjoyed being alone. He could work in peace without his father's shadow hanging over him. But, he knew he wouldn't always be there to work on Motherboard. So, like Siren before him, Web made a son and dubbed him the name Net Marbles. Thus, the cycle continued.

Net worked alongside his father until Web became too old to continue what his father started. Then, Net was left to finish his grandfather's legacy. But he, too, needed to have someone at his side to help him, so he made two sons which he called Cooper, and Mathias, who would become the father of the hero of Cyberspace.

When Net left Mathias to take over his great-grandfather's legacy, Mathias felt he couldn't do a good enough job with just the knowledge given to him prior to his start-up. He attended several classes throughout Cyberspace and received his Doctorate in Computer Technology. Since that day, Mathias became known as Dr. Mathias Marbles, though everyone just called him Dr. Marbles out of respect for him.

While Mathias had left his younger brother, Cooper, to attend to both their duties, Cooper felt his brother was receiving more attention than himself. Cooper (who everyone just called "Coop") became jealous and called Mathias out for not sharing in the limelight. Mathias told Coop "It would please me to share it with you, if you so desire". But Coop was still unhappy. A feud developed between the two brothers and Coop left to live on Cybersite Radopolis. The two never spoke again.

Mathias was a social creature. He had a lady friend, Ada Lovelace, who shared the same views and hobbies as he did. But the two were too busy to see each other.

Like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him, Mathias was lonely. He wanted someone at his side. Someone who could understand him and help him with his daily chores. But he wasn't sure how to run it by Motherboard. Thankfully, Motherboard already knew something was on Mathias' mind.

Dr. Marbles was the kind of person who didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve. He felt emotions got in the way and muddled someone's mind, thus making it difficult to complete certain tasks. For the most part, he remained stoic; only ever displaying jubilation if one of his inventions started working right away. Sometimes his brow furrowed in frustration if a program wasn't working properly, or sometimes just in concentration. Mathias also wasn't the kind of person who got distracted easily. When he was distracted, problems arose. But Mathias was always quick to fix those problems.

Today was a different story.

1

Dr. Marbles brow had been knit in a frown since early morning. Motherboard knew something was on his mind but didn't dare ask. At least not right away.

"Dr. Marbles, is something bothering you?" Motherboard asked when Mathias used the wrong part for the job he was trying to do . . . again.

"Nothing I would like to discuss at the moment, Motherboard." Mathias said.

He hated being short with his charge, but he was trying to concentrate, rather unsuccessfully, at the job at hand.

"Mathias, stop what you are doing and talk to me." Motherboard had had enough.

Mathias put his screwdriver down and looked up into Motherboard's holographic face. "Very well. Perhaps there is something I would like to discuss. You have noticed I have not been myself lately, haven't you?"

"Of course. You are acting like your forefathers before you."

"How did they overcome their loneliness?" Mathias asked.

"They made their children, of course." Motherboard said.

Mathias considered this for a moment. Was Motherboard giving him permission to make a Cyborg? He knew making life carried a certain level of responsibility. Mathias was plenty responsible. But was he responsible enough to be a father?

"Motherboard, I have formulated a proposition for you. I would like to make a cyborg. But I would like it to be unlike most other cyborgs."

"You want to be a father?"

"You have entered the data correctly." Mathias said.

"Mathias, I believe you would make a fine father. I give you permission to arrange for this borg's creation. I do ask you only work on your creation during your free time."

"Will do."


	2. Planning Process

_Chapter_ _Two. Max finally makes an appearance. And since Max calling Mathias "Dada" in _A Warrior Reborn_ was greatly recieved, i included it in this chapter. Ada Lovelace also makes an appearance. Future reference, Coop will probably make an appearance in this story too. this is giving me the opportunity to include characters who didn't make it in either ATS or in AWR. I'm also not an expert on romance novels so I kept the romance between Ada and Marbles to a minimum. Not that there was much of a romance between them in the show, anyway.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. If I did, it would still be broadcasting episodes to this day. I do own Max, Siren, Net, and Web._

* * *

Chapter Two  
Planning Process

While Mathias knew he wanted to make a child, he had no idea where to even begin. He wasn't even sure if he would make a good father. The only fatherly example he had was Net, his own creator, but Net wasn't exactly a novel father, either. Net was busy being Chief Technician that he paid little attention to his two, feuding boys.

Mathias was, in essence, having an identity crisis. Net had given Mathias several good examples of a bad example. Net had slipped up being a father. Mathias was worried he would do the same.

"I'm sure you would make a fine father, my dear Dr. Marbles." said Ada Lovelace.

Mathias had called his sweetheart because he was having an identity crisis. But Ada didn't want to discuss matters over the phone, so she requested for Motherboard to send a Transportal – the fastest way to get around Cyberspace. Right away, Mathias paced his room, telling Ada everything that was on his mind. For some reason, Ada was easier to talk to than Motherboard.

He discussed the fact he felt a little neglected by Net. And, since he wasn't able to hold his relationship with Coop together, Mathias wasn't sure if he could hold a relationship with a young borg together either.

Ada sat on Mathias' bed, hands folded daintily in her lap. She waited until he was done ranting before she spoke.

"Mathias, you're not Net. Your father was not cut out to be a father. That was known long before you and Cooper came along. He created you to continue his grandfather's legacy."

She patted the sideboard and did not continue speaking until Mathias had sat down – his pacing made her dizzy. Then, she leaned against him with her head on his shoulder and her hand in his.

"You're better than Net, Mathias. Everyone knows it. People like you. Your father was cold and distant. You're warm and close. I'm sure your little girl will love you just the same."

Mathias was a little stunned. "Little girl?" he asked. He hadn't even thought about gender yet.

Ada smiled. "Yes. I see you with a little girl. What do you think?"

Mathias smiled, too, and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I like it, Ada. I like it just fine." He could see a little female borg in his future.

0

Making a borg took a lot of planning. More planning than Mathias had anticipated. Nine months, to be exact, and the planning might not have needed to take that long if Mathias hadn't been busy keeping Motherboard in proper working condition. Lucky for him, Ada stuck around to help make the job go faster.

Along the way, Mathias located an old, rusty, four-drawer filing cabinet stowed away in a corner of a storage closet. The drawers were fused together with rust and eons of disuse. When Mathias squirted WD40 into the cracks and wrenched the first drawer open, he found it contained designs dating back to Siren's time. The second and third drawers had designs from Web and Net. The forth drawer was empty.

Siren was a very organized borg to say the least. His designs were arranged into folders according to type. Each folder arranged in alphabetical order, and each design was arranged in order of conception date. The concepts were also held together in groups with paperclips and were organized in a specific order: notes, blue-prints, price-lists, and to-do lists. There were forty folders in all and each folder was stretched beyond capacity with ideas. Except for number twenty-three which wasn't near as full – only containing a few blue-prints and notes. After staring at the notes a moment, Mathias realized number twenty-three was actually a design for Siren's successor, Web.

Elated, Mathias searched the rest of the drawers and came up with designs from Web. Web's folders weren't near as neat as Siren's but the writing was legible. Mathias was particularly excited to find designs for Net. And when Mathias searched Net's drawer, he found designs from Net for his two boys.

"What did you find, Mathias?" Ada asked. She heard him gasp with excitement and knew he had come up with something.

She came up behind him, wrapped her arms around his narrow waist, and rested her chin on his shoulder. Mathias hefted the folders and smiled at his sweetheart.

"Scroll down, my dear." he said. He headed out of the room.

Ada had been with Mathias long enough to know that was his way of saying "come with me", so she followed him to his workshop and watched him spread the four folders out on the table.

"What are these, my dear?" Ada asked.

Mathias stepped aside so she could read the labels. Then, she gasped and looked up at his ecstatic features.

"You mean – these are –" she began.

"The plans from my forefathers. They're all here. All of them from my great-grandfather, Siren, to my brother and I. These will give me an idea to design my own successor."

Ada hugged him. "I'm glad you found them. But, will it work the same for a female borg?"

"It should. Borgs are the same, internally. Externally, they're different." Mathias said.

Ada smiled. "Let's get started."

1

Between planning and working on Motherboard, eight months had come and gone. Ada had stayed and helped for a while, but she had other duties to attend to, so she left Control Central for her own Cybersite. Mathias continued the task alone. Thankfully, he had Siren's old records for him to go by.

On the ninth month, the project was nearly completed. Mathias had her internal systems functioning properly and most of the pieces fitted together; making adjustments here and there as needed. All that was left now was to enter the appropriate data.

"Motherboard?" Mathias said, switching a monitor located on his workbench.

He had the monitor in his workroom for the very purpose of keeping in touch with his ward.

"Yes, Dr. Marbles?" Motherboard asked, sweetly.

"I require your assistance. My daughter is almost finished. There are two more tasks to be fulfilled. If you would be so kind as to watch the knowledge copy-transfer from my mind to hers?"

"Of course, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said. Copy-transfer was a delicate procedure. Even more delicate than creating life.

Mathias opened a desk drawer and withdrew two USB cables. He flinched as he jabbed the end of one cord into the back of his skull and plugged it into the monitor. Then, he turned his daughter's head off to the side and jabbed the other cord into the back of her skull and plugged it into the monitor.

"Begin copy-transfer." Mathias said. Immediately, his eyelids drooped and he slumped forward against his workbench.

Motherboard calmly watched as a task bar appeared in the lower portion of her screen.

_Copy-transfer 5 folder(s), 458 sub-folder(s) from 0424121 to 0424131._

She waited until the transfer was completed before awakening Mathias.

"The copy-transfer went on without a hitch." She told him.

"Thank you, Motherboard." Mathias said, removing the USB cables from both his and his daughter's skulls.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked.

"Negative, Motherboard. I will call you when I have need of your services." he said.

Motherboard nodded, appreciatively, before logging off.

Mathias picked up a four-compartment, battery-pack, slipped it into its slot, and screwed it into place. Then, after closing the lid and pulling down the t-shirt he had dressed her in, he located her power switch, and flipped it on.

Her eyes snapped open and she focused on Mathias' apprehensive face. The expression confused her for a moment. Then, she smiled and reached out to him; fingers curling and uncurling in a "hold me" gesture.

"Dada!"

Mathias smiled with relief and picked her up. Her toddler-sized body fitting neatly in his arms. "My name is Dr. Mathias Marbles. But you can call me Dada or Dad or whatever you like."

He hugged her, then set her back on the bench while he sat on the stool and rubbed his chin in thought. "Now, what shall I call you?"

Mathias tried a few variations, voicing them out loud. Then, he smiled and said, "I'll call you Maxanne Marbles. Max for short. What do you think of that, Max?"

Max smiled. "I like it, Daddy." she said.

"Good." Mathias said.

He picked her up again and carried her out of the room.


	3. Fatherhood

_Chapter Three. It's a little long but there was a lot in there. btw, instead of telling you what is and isn't my idea, i have simply tucked in footnotes at the end of each chapter. there is a number next to each line which is linked with the footnote. just thought this would be easier.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Three  
Fatherhood

Despite Mathias' previous apprehensions about being a father, Max was a relatively easy kid to take care of. She was obedient, willing to learn new skills, and rather polite and friendly. She was a happy baby, too. Mathias could go to bed at night, looking forward to waking up in the morning and finding Max's smiling face peering over the edge of his bed.

"Good morning, Daddy." she would say, giggling.

"Good morning, Max." he would say in return, reaching over and ruffling her short, untidy, brown hair. "Do you require breakfast?"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Let's go get some, then."

After breakfast, the two of them would run routine checks on Motherboard's systems. Then, the rest of the day was spent between the two of them.

Much to Mathias' relief, Max got along with everyone she met. The first of which was Motherboard, who was quick to accept Max's presence in Control Central as Mathias' little girl. Ada was next and Max took to her immediately. Even going as far as to think of Ada as her mother.

Motherboard encouraged Mathias to take Max to Cyber-wide meetings so they could meet his daughter. The heads of the different Cybersites were equally as willing to accept Max as Mathias' daughter and found her to be a joy to behold.

But, when Max caught sight the head of Shangri-La, a new interest caught her attention. Max stood at her father's chair and tugged at the sleeve of his zip-up jacket.

"Daddy? Who is that?" she asked, pointing to the levitating borg.

He smiled and scooped her up into his lap. "Master, would you like to introduce yourself to my daughter?"

The borg worked his way around the table and inclined his head, politely, to the inquisitive youngster. "My name is Master Erasmus Pi." He said. "I am the ruler of Cybersite Shangri-La, a Site known for its dragons and its way of peace."

Max liked his low, docile tones. She liked how he spoke to her as an equal and not as a child. And, she became interested in learning more.

Back at Control Central, Max asked Motherboard and Mathias if they would tell her more about Shangri-La. For several nights afterward, Motherboard rocked Max to sleep with stories about the Shield-maidens1 and Sword-thanes2 – the elite Warriors – of Shangri-La. While Max knew that her purpose in life was to be a daughter to her father, she couldn't help but think that, maybe – just maybe – she was meant for something greater.

At the age of two, Max approached Motherboard and Mathias.

"Motherboard, Dad, can I talk to you?" she said. She had grown out of the use of titles babies had been known to use and, instead, used more grown-up titles. Though, since Motherboard was not her mother, she refrained from calling her as such.

"Of course, Max. What is it?" Motherboard asked.

She took a breath. "I want to become a Shield-Maiden of Shangri-La." Max said, bluntly.

Mathias dropped his torch inside Motherboard at this sudden news. "What?" he asked, turning to face his little girl.

"I want to be a Shield-Maiden of Shangri-La." Max repeated. She eyed her father, pleadingly. "Please, Dad? I never ask for anything more than what you can give! In fact, I almost never ask you for anything! Please, won't you let me do this one thing?"

Marbles was silent for a moment, contemplating the wisdom of letting a young borg who was not programmed for war be trained as a Shield-Maiden. He made a great show of looking for the torch and putting it back into his toolbox, then wiping grease of his hands before answering – he knew precisely where the torch was but he needed time to think of his answer.

"Max, I don't know if that kind of life would suit you." he said.

"Why not?" she asked. She didn't look upset with his answer, just unhappy.

"Max, the way of a Shield-Maiden is long and full of dangers. It takes a special kind of borg to do the things they do. A specially programmed borg. One that has the right kind of features for that kind of life. You will be constantly called away to do things for other people. You will forever have to answer to Master Pi. Your life with be bound to that Site and its people. That's not what Dr. Marbles programmed you for." Motherboard said, kindly.

Max looked up into her leader's face. "But I want to do it."

"It's not an easy life either, Max." Mathias pointed out. He knelt and put his hands on Max's shoulders.

"But I don't _want_ the easy life, Dad! That's what I'm trying to tell you! I want a challenge! I want to live my life how I choose. I want to help Cyberspace in more than just being a technician. That's what I really want to do." Max said. She took a step back so she could better see her father's face.

"Max, I didn't build you to be a Warrior." Mathias said.

"I know! You built me to carry on great-great-grandad Siren's legacy! I promise to do that, Dad, but that's in the future! This is something I want to do _now_!"

"Why, Max?" Mathias asked. "What makes you think you want to do this?"

"I feel like it's calling to me, Dad. That's all I can tell you. I just feel like it's my calling." Max told him.

Mathias was silent. His golden-brown eyes met Max's dark-brown ones. He could see the stubbornness lingering there and realized Max was a lot like him in many respects. He reached out and touched Max's untidy, brown hair.

"Mathias." Motherboard said when the silence had stretched for far too long. "Mathias, I really think Max would benefit from something like this."

Mathias' jaw set.

"Okay, Max. I'll let you go to Shangri-La and learn how to be a Shield-Maiden. I just ask that you wait one year – just one year – before making any decisions. If you still believe this is your calling, I will personally call Master Pi and have him take you in. Agreed?" he said.

"Okay, Dad." Max said.

0

The year had passed slowly. During that time, Max had reflected greatly on the idea of being a Shield-Maiden, but she never brought it up with her father again since their last conversation. Max's silence on the subject led Mathias to believe Max had simply just decided against going to Shangri-La. At least, he hoped she had decided against it.

Mathias had nothing against Shangri-La, Master Pi, or any of the Warriors that lived there. In fact, he was rather good friends with the kindly master and he respected the Red Warrior – who was, himself, a Sword-Thane – and the Warriors under him. But Mathias just couldn't see Max as one of those stiff, silent Warriors. He didn't know if he could sleep at night knowing Max was out there defending Cyberspace against borgs who intend evil against the rest of society. To him, Max joining the Warriors of Shangri-La was going against her original programming.

During the year, other things distracted Max and Mathias from their thoughts of Max joining the Warriors. Among them was a surprise video-call from Mathias' brother, Cooper. Mathias was very happy to hear from Coop, but he couldn't help but wonder why Coop even took the time to call him anyway.

"Hey, bro." Coop said, cheerfully.

"Cooper! It's wonderful to hear from you!" Mathias said.

"Yeah. I've been meaning to call you, lately. I just haven't gotten to it. I've been pretty busy." Coop said.

"Oh? Mechanics business booming?" Mathias asked.

Coop nodded, his smile widening. "Yes. That's not all. I have some great news, brother. I'm a father, now. Can you believe it? A father!" His face was the same as Mathias' when Max came online.

"That's wonderful news, Cooper. I have some news for you, too." Mathias said.

"Oh?" Cooper asked.

Mathias turned away from the screen and motioned to Max who had been seated on the floor behind him, assembling a computer terminal. Max put the parts aside, got up, and went to lean against her father's shoulder. Her eyes met those of the uncle she never met before, and she wasn't smiling. She was, instead, trying to find a family resemblance in the older borg's face. She saw none. Coop had a cat-like nose, blocky eyes, and a firm jaw. He was dressed in a one-piece, grease-stained jumpsuit and a black, wool hat.

"This is my daughter, Max." Mathias said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Say hi to Uncle Cooper, Max." he told her.

Max rested her left arm across his shoulder and leaned in close to him to see the screen better. "Hi." Max said.

"Nice to meet you, Max." Coop said. "Boy, she looks an awful lot like you, Mathias. Except you didn't give her blue hair. What's up with that?" Coop was joking, of course. He had a mop of untidy, brown hair on his head, too, and he used to tease his older brother about his short, blue hair beneath a massive light bulb.

"Brown hair looked better on her." Mathias said.

"That it does." Coop agreed. He turned away from his screen and motioned to someone behind him. Seconds later, a young boy baring the uncanny resemblance of Coop, stepped into view. Coop pulled the boy close to him with a chuckle. "Bro, Max, this is Slider. Slider, these two are my brother, Mathias, and his daughter, Max."

Both kids eyed each other, uncertain what to say.

"Hey." Slider said.

"Hi." Max said.

"That's interesting." Mathias said, eying Max. "Usually I can't get her to be quiet."

Cooper laughed. "Same here. I suppose it's because they're meeting someone new."

Mathias nodded, but he didn't think that was the case. Max met plenty of new people; the Cyber-council being the biggest bunch of new people he introduced her to and she wasn't silent during that either.

"Listen, Bro, I've been thinking lately –" Cooper began.

"Never a good sign.3" Mathias told him with a smile.

"Funny." Coop said. "Anyway, I was thinking . . . we've been apart for far too long, brother. I say we reconcile our differences and make up. I know we should've done this a long time ago – way before Max and Slider came into our lives – but I think it would be good for our kids to grow up together."

"Really? What brought about this change of heart, Cooper? Last thing I recall, you ran out of me and called me a selfish . . . well, you know what word you used." Mathias said.

"Look Mathias, I regret leaving you to take care of Motherboard on your own. I never should've said the things I did. But I said them and I'm sorry." Coop said.

Mathias released Max and she went back to finish her project. He leaned forward; fingers together, elbows on the keyboard deck.

"Our father expected us to stick together, Cooper. In fact, if I recall correctly, he begged us to stick together. That was why he made both of us so neither one of us would have to shoulder the weight of maintaining Motherboard on our own. But you still ran off on me. It's going to take a lot more than an apology to get me to accept you back in my life – and my daughter's life – again."

"I understand, bro." Coop said. "But, I do want Slider and Max to at least know each other. If not do it for the sake of our father, then at least do it for the sake of your daughter and my son."

Mathias considered it. "Very well. How do you want to go about this?"

"Well, for starters, I would like to have Max stay on Radopolis with us for a time. Just a week, that's all. Then, Slider can come and stay with you in Control Central for a week. I would like my son to experience something _other_ than the life of a Radster." Coop said.

Mathias considered this, also. He wanted Max to experience life outside Control Central. And, getting to know his brother's son would be beneficial to himself, too.

"Very well. However I would like the two of us to do things together, too."

"You got it." Coop said, logging off.

1

Max wasn't exactly sure if she actually wanted to visit Radopolis. The Site really wasn't high on the list of places she wanted to visit.

Radopolis was one, big, thrill sports arena. The borgs there were specially designed for sports: cycling, blading, and boarding. Competitions were commonplace here. Borgs all across the Site aiming to prove they were the best at what they did.

Because of the kind and competitive nature of the Site's inhabitants, Radopolis was actually listed second in "most visitable sites"; falling square behind R-Fair-City, which was actually one, giant theme park.

Max had been to R-Fair-City a couple of times with her dad and she understood the appeal. R-Fair-City was full of games, carnival shows, and rides. The carnies were all designed as clowns to make the site more likeable – and none of the clowns were evil. The games were based purely on a 50/50 chance. The rides were thrilling. The carnival shows were entertaining. The carnies were friendly. And everyone always came back for more.

But Max had never been to Radopolis. She didn't really _want_ to go to Radopolis. Spending her days on a ramp or watching a petty competition wasn't exactly something that thrilled her. Max wasn't exactly the kind of person to do nothing but participating in sports wasn't really her thing either.

As much as Max didn't want to go to Radopolis, she knew her dad wanted her to go and stay with her uncle and cousin for a week. So Max packed a weeks worth of clothes, toiletries, and a few games in a dufflebag and slung the lot onto her shoulder. After checking her reflection in the mirror and fluffing out her short hair, she headed down to the cargo bay only to find her father beginning the launch sequence on his new, two-seater Cybercoop.

"Ready to go, Max?" he asked, cheerfully.

"Yeah." Max said. She tossed her bag into the trunk and hopped into the other seat. She tried to share Mathias enthusiasm but couldn't bring the smile to her eyes.

Mathias face darkened and he reached out to touch her shoulder. "I know you don't really want to be there, Max, but it is only for a week. After that, Slider can come stay with us for a while. Okay?"

"But Dad, what if they don't like me? What if I don't like them? You said so yourself that Uncle Coop ran out on you and left Motherboard's care completely up to you. What if he runs out on me?" Max said.

"He's not going to run out on you, Max. Besides, that was a long time ago. We were kids at that time and Net had just passed on. It was a rough time for both of us. Cooper just wasn't ready for the responsibilities our father left to us." Mathias told her.

"What if he's still not ready for the responsibilities Grandpa Net left you? What if he's not ready to be a father?" Max asked.

Mathias stared at Max. Obviously she had put a lot of thought into this. "You really don't want to be there, do you?"

"No." Max said, relieved she no longer had to keep up the pretenses of excitement.

"It'll be fine, Max. Here." He opened the console between them and pulled out a strange-looking device. It resembled a walkie-talkie and calculator with an oversized screen. He placed the device in Max's hand and she stared at it. "This is my newest invention. I call it a SQWACK pad. It's a communicator and drawing board all rolled into one. If there's a problem between you and my brother, call me. I'll have Motherboard send you a portal and you can leave right away."

Max studied the SQWACK Pad. "Okay. Thanks, Dad."

"My number has already been programmed into that one. I was going to give it to you when you turned three but now seems as good a time as any since Cooper has come back into our lives." Mathias said.

"Thanks, Dad." Max repeated. "Can we go now so I can get this week over with?"

He smiled. _Impatient as always_, he mused. "Okay, Max. Let's go."

0

Needless to say, Max's week at Radopolis wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, she kind of enjoyed it. The Radsters made Max's visit quite the pleasant experience and she didn't mind staying there. At the end of the week, Max was a little sad to go.

As it turned out, Slider was only a few months younger than Max. He was a tall, lanky lad mildly programmed with a Radster personality. His brown hair was medium-length and untidy, and he seemed to favor cargo pants, tennis shoes, hooded sweatshirts and skateboards. Coop was a much older, much bigger version than Slider. However, even though their height and age were enough to distinguish one from another, Coop had also decked himself out with pants, turtlenecks, work boots, and a knit cap. He, too, favored a skateboard, only this one hovered.

Coop and Slider made Max feel welcome in their small home, which was really the back portion of their garage where repairs were done on Cybercoops. During the day, the garage bustled with orders from Cyber-citizens everywhere asking for routine maintenance on their coops. Max assisted with may of the repairs and took to mechanics like a fish to water. Coop couldn't help but laugh when Max volunteered to help.

"Just like your dad, huh?" he said, clapping her on the back.

Max didn't particularly care for back-clapping, but she found she didn't mind when Coop was the one doing it. Coop was a jolly man. Nothing like the brother her father used to tell her about. It seemed Coop had changed from the pig-headed, young borg to a level-headed, responsible father and auto mechanic. Max found new respect for her uncle.

When the days tasks were done, Max and Slider were allowed a few hours of playtime out on the Site. Slider took her to the day's competitions. Max suspiciously believed Slider only wanted to show his cousin off, which could very well have been the case. But Max did not feel the least bit threatened by these two borgs. In fact, she had felt so comfortable with them, she felt no need to call her father up at all.

When the week had come to an end, Coop started up _his_ new two-seater Cybercoop – with Max and Slider jammed together on the same seat – and headed off to Control Central. He dropped his niece and son off, said good-bye to Slider and told him to have a good week, before taking off by himself back to Radopolis.

Slider's week had been less eventful at Control Central than Max's week at Radopolis. Mathias kept the two busy by having them assist with routine maintenance on Motherboard. Then, after all that was done, Mathias would come up with a project for the two of them to work on, pleased that Slider had also inherited Coop's knack of making and fixing things.

By the time Slider's week was over, so was Max's one-year limit. And Mathias had to keep his promise to Max and call Master Pi.

1Shield-Maiden – Elite female Warrior

2Sword-Thane – Elite male Warrior

3"I've been thinking lately."; "Never a good sign." - Legend of Zorro


	4. Master Pi's Choice

_Chapter_ _four. this one was longer than what i wanted but, heck, it'll do. somebody makes an appearance in this one too. dundunduuuuuuun!__  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. If I did, it would still be broadcasting episodes to this day. I do own Max. I also just randomly named one of the warriors Jethro. not supposed to be a NCIS reference but you can translate it however you want._

* * *

Chapter Four  
Master Pi's Choice

Master Pi had to admit he was both surprised and amused when he received word of Max's interest to join the Shangri-La Warrior ranks. But he, like Mathias, was skeptical about Max being a Shield-Maiden. He met the girl, he knew who she was and what she was meant for, and this didn't seem like the type of thing she was cut out for.

Months after Max's initial start-up, Mathias proudly informed Pi that he and Motherboard were telling Max stories about the Shield-Maidens and Sword-Thanes of Shangri-La every night before bed. This news pleased Pi. It wasn't very often he got to hear about a young borg being interested in learning about a civilization alien to the one they grew up in. Nevertheless, Pi was concerned Max would want to become like the female figures in the stories. He didn't have a problem with borgs aspiring to be more, he just had a problem with _that_ borg aspiring to be more.

His concerns were not unduly felt.

When Mathias called him, Pi made only one promise: he would come to Control Central and talk with Max. He didn't say anything about the possibility of Max joining them and he wouldn't say anything about her joining unless he had fully analyzed the situation. And the possible recruit. He requested for Motherboard to send him a Portal so he could see the recruit ASAP. No sooner had he dismounted from the Portal than he was stunned to see Ada Lovelace standing with Mathias; Motherboard was present as well. Pi thought this was curious. He had no idea what Ada's relationship with Max could possibly be that she would want to be present.

Mathias noticed Pi's look. He scooted close to Ada and threw an arm across his girlfriend's shoulders. "Ada helped me with some of Max's manufacturing. In some kind of way, Ada is Max's mother."

Pi nodded in understanding but said nothing on the subject. Instead, he turned his attention back to Max, who was now kneeling on the floor before him. Pi folded his hands over his trademark scepter; face betraying nothing as he scrutinized the young borg.

She was exactly as he remembered her and she was not built like the Warriors of Shangri-La. Her body was designed the same as Mathias': slim, light, and narrow for fitting into tight spaces; arms long, thin, and double-jointed for reaching around pipes and bars to make repairs; fingers thin and strong for wielding tools; legs built for lifting heavy objects.

While her appearance was the primary reason behind him not wanting to permit Max to train with them, the other was her personality which was a result of the copy-transfer between herself and Mathias before her start-up. True she was kind, friendly, and polite. But she was also impatient and impulsive. Those were the kind of qualities a Warrior should not have.

Pi took a breath. "I understand you want to become a Shield-Maiden." he said.

"Yes." Max said.

"You do know this is not an easy life?"

"Yes, I know."

". . . And this does not concern you?"

"No."

_Hmm. Maybe there's hope for her after all._ Pi thought.

"If I accept you as an apprentice, do you promise to do anything and everything I tell you to . . . without question, hesitation, or complaint?"

"Yes."

"Becoming a Shield-Maiden is also time-consuming. One does not just become a Shield-Maiden, the title is earned through hard work. Do you promise to bide your time, to wait for the decisions of your instructors to be made? Do you promise not to demand for me to give you the colors?"

There was a moment's pause. Max thought it made her look like she was thinking through everything he was asking. Master Pi saw it as a hesitation.

"Yes."

Pi stared at her, looking deep into the soft, brown eyes. She was telling the truth. She was promising to do these things _now_, but the future was still uncertain.

He still had one more question. This one he directed to Dr. Marbles. "Is she a good student?"

"In the ways of mechanics, yes. She has learned the skills I wanted her to learn quickly and with few mistakes. I don't know how good a student she will be in your art." Mathias said.

"Please, Master Pi. Her heart is set on it." Ada said, clasping her hands at her chest.

He sighed. "I will take her." he said.

He didn't miss the sigh of relief from both Ada and Mathias.

"Send her to me in two days. I will have everything ready then. Three days from now, her training will begin. Good day."

A Portal opened behind him and Master Pi slipped inside. Max watched the mysterious Master, unable to contain the smile that was just bursting at the seams. Little did she know she had just set things in motion that would decide her fate in the future.

1

They weren't kidding when everyone told Max it wouldn't be an easy life. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't difficult either. It was a down-right challenge. A disaster waiting to happen.

Aside from waking up with the sun to help her father, Max was _not_ a morning person. As it turned out, the Warriors were up even _earlier_. A fact that blew Max's mind and would continue to blow her mind for the full three years she would be staying there.

The first thing that happened when she arrived was she was shown to her room, which was situated on the top floor of a Bogota and contained a low table surrounded by cushions, a stand with wash basin and pitcher, a trunk for clothes, and a bed. After she got situated and put her things away, Max was taken around the Site for a grand tour. By the end of the tour, Max knew where everything was.

The next day, she was introduced to a schedule of events she was supposed to religiously follow: rise and shine half-hour before dawn, breakfast with the Warriors for twenty minutes, meditation for two hours, sparring practice in the training field, kick-boxing with the Warriors and dragons at the Good Vibration – the source of balance in Shangri-La – for an hour, twenty-minute supper, hour long meditation, and then sleep.

Her first day of training was fairly boring. Firstly, she couldn't get over the two-hours of silence and stillness. As a result, she received several glares from the Warriors near her and she had to mutter a few apologies under her breath. Secondly, she couldn't get over the two-meals-a-day thing either, or the twenty minutes to eat. It helped she wasn't allowed to speak with the other Warriors so eating went faster than her mealtimes with her father. Thirdly, she hadn't been allowed to choose a weapon. Of course, abiding by her promise to Master Pi, she hadn't asked when she would be allowed to get one.

On the third day, during practice time, Master Pi took Max aside and showed her to the armory.

"This is where you will choose the weapon that most fits your personality or soul. Every Warrior has a weapon they most specialize in. You must find yours." He indicated the rows and rows of weapons lining the walls on pegs or in stands. There were swords, spears, bolas, sparring sticks, scythes, bows and arrows, and more. "Take your pick, little one. I will not stand in your way."

Max did pick. She hefted each weapon off their pegs and tested them. Each was perfectly balanced and weighted. But, none of them felt right. Then, she found _it._

A Cyber-ash quarter stave stained dark with age. Long, straight, and light. Its diameter fit perfectly in Max's hand. She gently lifted it out of the long box where other quarter staves were placed. This stave was perfectly balanced and it just seemed right for her.

She left the armory and did a few test-swings to see if it was right for her and she liked what she felt. Max grinned at Master Pi and showed it to him.

"I like this, Master." she said.

Master Pi nodded his approval. "I was hoping you would." he said. He took the stave from her and looked it over. "This staff has some history. Long before our time – even mine – the first Shield-Maiden was said to have carried a stave just like this. In fact, word has it _this_ was the stave she carried. Word also has it that she had a relationship with your great-great-grandfather Siren."

"Really?" Max said.

"I can't guarantee the second part is true, but the first part has been recorded. Quarter stave measuring sixty inches in length, three inches in diameter, solid Cyber-ash. This stave is the one she might have carried. If she had, in fact, been with your second-great grandfather, than this stave belongs to you, her successor and heir." He handed it back to her. "Treat it well."

Along with the stave, Pi also presented Max with a hollow sheath which went crosswise over her shoulder and a decorated shield to wear over her arm. He explained that the shield had also been carried by the first Shield-Maiden but Max didn't have to carry it if she didn't want to. The shield was heavy to Max so she started storing it away in her room, having no idea what she would do with it or how she was going to use it.

During the first year of her training, Max learned a variety of techniques with the stave. Jethro, one of the tall, silent Warriors, was placed in charge of overseeing Max's training in this area. He introduced her to the art of Hapkido which they deemed the best art form for someone of her construction. Hapkido was a mix of many of the art forms studied on Shangri-La: Aikido, Judo, Jujitsu, and Kick-boxing. It instilled the art of using a staff, sword, cane, rope, and rods while still teaching a variety of joint locks, kicks, punches, and striking attacks. The training was arduous, but Max endured it and Jethro remained her teacher until she received her red belt. Then, Max's training was passed off to their resident Sword-Thane, the Red Warrior.

Max's training up until being handed off to Red had been fairly simple. She couldn't leave Shangri-La and she had to stick to the daily schedule. Max had worked hard to receive her red belt, which was the next to last step before receiving her Shield-Maiden's colors. Red informed her it wouldn't be an easy journey from here on out and she knew it.

Now, Max's training involved leaving the Site on certain missions. All of them were directed under Red. Red only accompanied Max as a way of watching how she did. He dealt out information on how the mission was to be conducted and of the situation on the various Sites they were to visit. After that, Max was left to take care of the situation.

By the age of six, Max felt she was finally ready to accept the Shield-Maiden's colors. But, in many respects, she felt Pi and Red were holding her back. The belt around her waist was now dull in color to her and she couldn't help but feel disgusted by it. She didn't understand. She did everything they asked her to and yet it seemed like they didn't appreciate any of it. With a jolt, Max realized she was getting tired of all the training. She was so close to getting the black belt she could almost feel it.

"Master, can I ask you something?" she said to Red one day.

"You are welcome to say what you like, young one." Red told her with a bow.

Even by age six, Max was still head and shoulders taller than Red. But, his diminutive size was very much deceiving. She had seen him in the practice field and knew he could take on any number of Warriors and still come out on top. She bit her lower lip, now thinking about the wisdom behind asking the Red Warrior anything.

"Max?" he pressed.

_Ah, what the heck._ Max thought, resignedly. "How far away am I from achieving the Shield-Maiden's colors?"

"You are not far." Red told her. "A few more missions and the sash is yours."

That thought caused Max to relax and she couldn't wait for the missions to come. Unfortunately, the missions took too long in coming. Max grew impatient and with her impatience came the decision that she would regret making later on.

Max went to Master Pi's own Bogota and bowed at the foyer before entering.

"Master, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, little one. What would you like to discuss?"

"It's about the title of Shield-Maiden, Master. I decided, it's not right for me. At least, not right now." she said, ashamedly hanging her head.

Pi remained silent for the longest time. "I see." he finally said. He laid aside a stack of reports he had been reviewing prior to Max's visit. "So, these three years of training have gone to waste on you, have they?"

"Oh no, Master! That's not what I meant at all!"

"Then what?"

"I just don't feel like I'm ready to become a Shield-Maiden is all."

"Then, what will you do with the training we have presented you with?"

Max shrugged. "Keep working on them, I guess." she said. She untied the belt from around her waist and shrugged the sheath off her shoulder. She placed both on the floor at Master Pi's feet. "I should give these back, then, since I am no longer fit to use them."

Pi shook his head. "You may keep them as long as you promise to come when I call you. You may not be a Shield-Maiden, Max, but you are a Warrior of Shangri-La for as long as you wear those colors."

Max took the objects and put them back on. She bowed again. "Thank you, Master. I promise to answer when the gong sounds."

Pi stared at her. "I take it you plan to leave Shangri-La."

"Yes, Master. My father needs me back home. So Control Central is where I will be." Max said.

Pi's hand left his scepter and he gently touched Max's head. "So long, then, Maxanne Marbles."

When Max left Pi's room, she headed up to her own and packed her things. Things that included the shield, nunchuks, extra gi's, an assortment of knives stowed in a leather roll-up, and clothes that she brought from home. Underneath her bed, she found her SQWACK Pad and dialed in Motherboard's number.

"Max? Is there a problem?" Motherboard asked.

"No, Motherboard. I'm – I'm just coming home for a while is all." Max said.

"You didn't make it to Shield-Maiden, did you?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Alright. I'm sending you a Portal. Are you ready to leave?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

A Portal swirled to life. Max shouldered her bag and jumped in. After a half-minute of twisting around in the vortex, she landed on Control Central's floor with a loud "_Oof!"_

"Sorry, Max." Motherboard said. Her apology was followed closely by a voice she had never heard before.

"Are you alright? Here, let me help you."

Max was hauled upright and her gaze was met by a pair of black eyes that sent chills through her circuits.


	5. Chills to the Circuit Board

___Chapter Five. Hacker finally makes an appearance. i hope i kept him in character but it's hard to tell what with it being pre-cyber-domination.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase_._ Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Five  
Chills in the Circuit Board

"Who are you?" Max demanded, sharply. She yanked her arms out of the stranger's grasp and stepped back to better see the borg standing before her.

Her was tall and gangly with ridiculously tiny legs peeping out from underneath a white lab coat. He had green skin, a long, pointy chin, a pencil-thin nose, and black hair that was slicked back over his skull and curled upward at the bottom. He tried to smile at her but his eyes didn't catch the warmth his smile was trying to convey.

"My name is Hieronymus Hacker. I am Dr. Marbles' assistant." he said, offering Max his hand. "And you are?"

Max backed up, ignoring the hand. "Max. I'm Dr. Marbles' daughter." She said. She hadn't let her guard down yet. There was just something about Hieronymus she didn't like.

"His daughter." Hieronymus said, smile widening. "How interesting? He never mentioned he had a daughter as pretty as you."

"Funny. He never mentioned he had an assistant." Max said.

She was about to say more when the control room doors hissed open and Dr. Marbles sprinted into the room. He stopped when he saw Max and opened his arms to his little girl.

"Max? I hadn't expected you to be home so soon. Is everything alright?" he asked.

Max hugged him but kept her eyes on the borg behind her father. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. I just wanted to come home for a while. Is that so wrong?"

"Negative. I just hadn't expected you back this early." He said, releasing her.

He looked at her, expecting to see the Shield-Maiden's sash over her shoulder and a black belt around her waist. He didn't see either sash or belt and he knew Max had flunked out of becoming a Shield-Maiden.

"Max, are you sure everything's alright?" he asked.

Max looked at him and nodded. "Yeah."

"Then why aren't you wearing your sash? Where's your black belt?"

"I didn't get them, Dad."

"Master Pi send you home?"

"No. I sent myself home. It – it just wasn't working out, Dad. I – I just felt like I wasn't ready."

Mathias' face softened. He touched Max's face with his fingertips. "I'm sorry, Max."

"It's okay, Dad. Master Pi says I can try again whenever I'm ready. Right now, I'm just a Warrior of Shangri-La. Nothing more."

"Okay." Mathias said. He knew when not to push issues. This particular issue was one Max was making quite clear she didn't want to discuss.

Max nodded back at Hacker. "Dad, who is this guy?" she asked.

Mathias smiled. "This is my new assistant, Hieronymus Hacker. Hieronymus, this is my daughter, Max."

Hieronymus held out his hand again to Max who took a step back. "Pleased to meet you, Max." he said.

Max didn't share his enthusiasm. She ignored him and looked back at her father. "Did you make him, Dad?"

Mathias stared at Max. "You have entered the data correctly." he said.

"Why?"

"Max, you were gone for three years. Without you, I was getting far behind in my work. I needed someone who would help me and since you weren't always going to be here – what with you joining the Warriors and all – I calculated the possibility of making a new assistant."

"So, you were just going to replace me?"

Mathias shook his head. "Replace you? I would never replace you, Max!"

"Then why did you make a new assistant?"

"Max, please. Don't make the situation more than it is. I only created him to help me with Motherboard, that is all."

"Why did you call Mom or Professor Archimedes or Uncle Cooper? I'm sure they would be happy to help you!"

"Yes, I'm sure they would. But Ada, Professor Archimedes, and Cooper all have things they need to do besides help me."

"Dad, I thought I was going to inherit second-great grandpa Siren's legacy! Not him!"

"Max, your grandpa's legacy is will be yours to inherit. But only when I have passed on. Until then, decisions surrounding Motherboard's health are up to me to make. If I should decide to make an assistant or call someone to help me, I expect you to at least approve of the fact I had put a lot of thought into what I was doing."

"You could have asked me what I thought about this." Max said.

Mathias opened his mouth to argue but then shut it when he realized what Max had said was true. Sometimes he took for granted the fact her lot in life was to be his daughter and heir. He had to admit that when he was making plans to create Hieronymus, he hadn't even thought to discuss it with Max. Mathias realized this had to be a real blow to her ego to suddenly be home and find herself "replaced" by a borg who bore no resemblance to either of them.

"I'm sorry, Max." he said. "I should have called you and I didn't think to."

"When did you make him?" Max asked.

"Six months ago. Why?"

Max pulled her SQWACK Pad out of the back of her belt and switched it on. She went back through the call history list and found nothing from her father around that date. It didn't surprise her, though. Her father had probably been busy with his duties and she had been busy doing business on Cybersite Alternare around that time. The residence there were having a border war that was teetering dangerously on the edge of full-out violence.

Alternare had their own political structured society that took no part in the affairs of the rest of Cyberspace. It was also controlled by two, feuding clans who had their own ideas and interests in mind. Each clan controlled half of the site, but there was a disagreement over where the borderline should be. At the middle of the site were minerals and other precious elements. The families agreed they could split the materials up between them but they didn't know how much of the materials each side could have, and since the materials also happened to constantly grow in that region, each side wanted to make sure the other didn't get more than their share. Also, there were other important materials that only grew on one side or the other. Both families wanted access to the same materials but couldn't agree on who got what. It became Max and Red's job to come up with a solution to their problem which took weeks to make both sides agree on anything.

Max put her SQWACK away. "What's done is done. I suppose I'll have to live with it." she said.

Mathias squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry for not telling you, Max."

"I understand, Dad." she said.

She didn't touch him, which was a bad sign on his part. Mathias decided not to fret about it. He figured Max would get over it eventually.

He hoped.

Max shrugged her bag higher on her shoulder. "Is my room still available?" she asked.

"Of course, Max. Hieronymus, would you like to help her?" Mathias said.

"Of course, Dr. Marbles." Hieronymus said. He moved forward to take her bag but Max swiveled out of his reach.

"I can handle it." she said. She tried not to sound angry but she couldn't keep the venom out of her voice when she said it.

She turned on her heel and marched down the to her room where she set to work getting it cleaned to her specifications. She located a box of decorative hooks with slabs of adhesives. She placed these on the wall in certain places and unloaded her weapons. She hung the shield directly over her bed by its strap and hand grips and laid her quarter stave on hooks above the shield. Then, she unrolled her collection of throwing knives and hung the roll on hooks by the grommets fastened in the corners. She stuffed her clothes in her dresser drawers and her SQWACK Pad was shut in the bedside table along with her nunchuks.

Pleased everything was as it should be, Max laid back on her bed and fell asleep.

0

During the year that followed Max's return to Control Central, she added a few more daily activities to her schedule. Three years of training fused routines in her brain and she continued to religiously follow those routines to the letter, with only a few variations.

She would wake up a half-hour before dawn, dress in her gi, eat breakfast, and mediate. Then, she would head up to the control room and help with routine checks. After that she would practice her Hapkido skills in a holo-dome, take a shower, and eat supper with Mathias and Hieronymus.

Her schedule worked out because Hieronymus did most of the grunt work. But the evening meals with him were less than bearable. Hieronymus's only interest since Max came home was the Warrior life on Shangri-La, though Max repeatedly informed him she couldn't discuss those things. Max hadn't liked Hieronymus before, but she definitely didn't like him now. There were also times when Mathias had to disappear for meetings with the heads of Cyberspace and Max was forced to work with Hieronymus.

But another reason why she disliked Hieronymus was the fact she caught him multiple times in her room looking at her stuff. There had been times when things like her throwing knives, shield, stave, and nunchuks vanished from her room. Of course, all those things vanished after Hieronymus had paid a visit to her room. Max always knew it was Hieronymus who had taken the items and automatically took the issue up with her father. Of course, Hieronymus always had an excuse on hand.

"I was just looking at this shield. I found it so fascinating, I wanted to analyze it." he said.

"Next time, Hieronymus, please ask Max before you take anything." Mathias said, taking the shield from him and passing it back to Max.

"Of course." Hieronymus said with a slick grin.

Max hated that grin. It was a smile that blended oddly with his sickly-green skin. And his eyes never reflected the friendliness his smile tried to convey. His eyes were dark, like a train-less tunnel. Covetous, tricky, false. She could come up with quite a few adjectives to describe how she felt about him.

Max had tried telling her father how she felt about Hieronymus, but Mathias wouldn't listen to her.

"Max, I know I have not been spending much time with you lately. But you know how important my work is. You were not here when I needed you so I made an assistant." Mathias hugged his kid firmly but gently to him. "I know you do not like him, Max, but he is my assistant. So, try to be nice to him, okay."

Max agreed to_ try_ to be nice to him. Hieronymus was nice to her, too . . . in public. But neither one liked the other. That much was obvious. Max tried very hard to hide her contempt for Hieronymus. But Mathias could still tell Max hated his assistant.

Max tried to stay away from Hieronymus. But it seemed like everywhere she went, Hieronymus was there, getting in her way. At one point she ordered him to stay away from her but he didn't listen. Then, Max suspected he was up to no good when someone appeared in her room.


	6. Digit

_Chapter Six. It's a little long but there was a lot in there. Footnotes are there just like before. enjoy.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Six  
Digit

"Computer, locate Hapkido training sequences." Max said from her position on the floor of the Holo-dome.

"_Holo-dome search inquiry accepted. Hapkido training sequences located. Awaiting further instructions."_

"Computer, from those sequences locate grappling, striking, kicking, punching, and weapon usage."

"_Holo-dome search inquiry accepted. Usage of grappling, striking, kicking, punching, and weapons located. Awaiting further instructions."_

"Computer, separate those usages into categories and label training techniques using Greek Alphabet from alpha to omega."

"_Holo-dome search inquiry accepted. Separate usages into categories completed. Labeling usages in Greek Alphabet from alpha to omega, complete. Awaiting further instructions."_

The Holo-dome had been invented and programmed by Web as a way of teaching his descendants how to fix any malfunction in any given situation. It was located in the highest dome of Control Central. It was shaped like a sphere with no clear, glass windows. The floor and walls were coated with light-green tile. The tiles, themselves, were the holographic projectors.

The day after Max came home from Shangri-La, she received permission from Mathias to use it to hone her Hapkido skills. The computer inside the Holo-dome had originally been programmed to run technical simulations but it had a vast library of other subjects and the only reason why the computer had such a vast library was because it was directly linked to the Cybrary's own search systems. Among those subjects in the Cybrary was a collection of Shangri-La fighting styles and Hapkido was among them.

Max and Mathias knew what the Holo-dome was originally meant for, so Marbles told Max:

"If you can program the Holo-dome to accept training exercises for your Hapkido lessons, than access is granted."

"Thanks Dad." Max said, hugging him.

Luckily, programming the Holo-dome to accept Hapkido training exercises was no difficult task. All Max had to do was sit on the floor and tell the computer what to do. That was the easy part. The hard part was to make it through the training exercises. Of course, in a training exercise, the chances Max would be killed by a sword-thrust or a sharp weapon was extremely minimal. Getting struck by a sword or sparring stave would hurt, but the safety programmed into the Holo-dome would prevent permanent damage to the user. However, the higher the level, the harder it would be for Max to pass it.

"Computer, locate any subjects involving knife-throwing in Hapkido." She said.

"_Holodome search inquiry accepted. Search Hapkido knife-throwing complete. Awaiting further instructions."_

"Computer, mark subject with title Target Practice."

"_Holodome subject change accepted. Change Hapkido knife-throwing to Target Practice complete. Awaiting further instructions."_

"Computer, initiate holographic bitmap locations."

"_Holodome subject search accepted. Holographic bitmap locations complete. Display locations?"_

"Affirmative. Arrange in squares alphabetically by Cybersite."

"_Holodome displaying feature initiated. Awaiting further instructions."_

Max looked up at the rows and rows of bitmap images of all the Cybersites recorded in the Cybrary. They appeared in squares arranged around a six-sided cube which she was able to move and rotate with only her fingertips. Max rose and picked the bitmaps that had the most promising of terrains. With the palms of her hands, she moved each location onto a multi-chamber wheel, then dismissed the locations she didn't like much.

"Computer, I have completed selecting locations. Save the ones I have on the location-spinner and save as Attack Pattern Locations. Save the ones I have dismissed for future reference."

"_Holo-dome save function confirmed. Awaiting further instructions."_

"Computer, please keep location-spinner where I can see it. Now, open an empty location-spinner." An empty spinner appeared before her. "Now, search for malfunction training sequences. Arrange them on a cube just like before."

"_Holo-dome subject search accepted. Malfunction training sequences located. Displaying sequences in bitmap form."_

They appeared in a cube just like Max had instructed and she searched through them. Unable to decided which subject she should pick, she asked the computer to arrange them in order of most likely to least likely. The computer complied and Max selected the least likely sequences first and put them on the location-spinner. Then, she picked some of the most likely. After a few minutes, she decided to hell with it and moved them all; occasionally having to ask for more spaces on the location-spinner to store them all.

"Computer, save malfunction training sequences with title Motherboard Protection Program."

"_Holo-dome subject change accepted. Change malfunction training sequences to Motherboard Protection Program complete. Awaiting further instructions."_

Max dismissed both spinners and sat back down. "Computer, search Cyber-Citizen database. Display all Cyber-citizens in hexagon."

"_Holo-dome search inquiry accepted. Cyber-citizen database located. Awaiting further instructions."_

Max stood up again and looked the hexagon over. She found a list of villains past and removed them from the block. Then, she found a list of Shangri-La Warriors and moved them from the block to be with the villains. She told the computer to save the list of villains and Warriors as Hapkido Training Adversaries. Then, after dismissing the adversaries, she went back to the hexagon of people she hadn't moved. Since Motherboard was part of the protection program she rigged up, Max had her removed from the list as well as herself and saved it as Hapkido Training Innocents. After pulling up both lists, she told the computer to automatically randomize both lists and plugged them in with the Target Practice program.

Then, she sat down on the floor again, selected the weapons usage programs and opened a list of Shangri-La Warriors. She dismissed Pi and Red from that list – Pi because he took no part in the training exercises except for the kick-boxing routine behind the Good Vibration, and Red because he was her teacher and she felt he was too short to use. Having eliminated both of those choices, Max was left with the other twenty Warriors. She knew all of them by name but didn't know which one to use. As each of the Warriors were in possession of the same height, build, and even had the same characteristics, Max just built a program around those qualities. But she left out a face and called it "Faceless Phantom". She made six Faceless Phantoms and gave each of them a specific weapon or task according to the specific training portion she had in mind. Then, told the computer how many times each phantom was to appear in each program and how many were to appear at each level. She even opened a link between certain programs to allow for variations in her training.

When it was all finished, Max rose and picked up the roll of throwing knives she had laying beside her. She opened the roll and attached it to small hooks on the sides of her belt, arranging the roll until the knives were all lined up behind her back within easy reaching distance. There were eight knives in all. All eight had a rubber grip for better control on the handle, and a long, double-edged blade. The knives were equal in length, width, weight, and diameter and each one was perfectly balanced. Max could even have one knife balancing on her finger by its tip and it wouldn't fall over.

"Computer, we're going to start off with something fairly simple. Activate Hapkido Training Program: Target Practice sequence Alpha."

"_Holo-dome Hapkido Training Program confirmed. Target Practice, sequence Alpha activated." _ The computer intoned.

The scene changed from the spherical structure to a firing range. Max took up her stance, made sure her staff was out of the way on the floor, and took a deep breath.

"Cleaner droids, stand-by for retrieval." Max said.

The droids in question came alive with rows of colored lights. Their Frisbee-shaped bodies lifted off the ground as repulser engines kicked in. Multi-jointed arms extended from underneath them and their two claws opened; ready to retrieve any and all knives that fell to the ground. Max and her father had built and manufactured quite a few cleaner droids for Max's training program. Max knew she couldn't rely on the cleaner droids to always be there to help, but since this was training, she was going to allow herself this tiny luxury.

"Initiate." she said to the computer.

The computer beeped in response and the Holodome came alive with activity. Targets appeared and at varying distances and Max had to hit them using only her throwing knives. No sooner had a target appeared than Max already had a knife in one hand by its tip. With a flick of her wrist, she skewered the target which would dissolve and the knife would fall to the ground where one of the cleaner droids would pick it up and place it back in its slot.

Max practiced the Alpha-level sequence for a half-hour then amped it up to Beta-level. In Beta, Max no longer received holographic wooden targets. She received holographic targets of people she knew: friends, allies, enemies, and Warriors. She had to only hit the villains and Warriors, not the innocents that randomly appeared. Such actions required a level of self-control Max was still developing. In a sense, she couldn't be a loose-cannon.

When Beta-level sequence was finished, Max took her knives off, rolled them up, and laid them down on the floor in a place that would be out of the way. Then, she shrugged her quarter stave sheath onto her shoulder and cinched the lot snug to her body.

"Computer, activate Hapkido Training Program: Quarter-spar sequence Gamma." she said. "Cleaner droids, initiate shut-down mode."

The cleaner droids beeped and returned to their places. At the same time, the computer beeped in response.

"_Holo-dome Hapkido Training Program confirmed. Quarter-spar, sequence Gamma, activated. Bitmap location preference?"_

"Surprise me." Max said.

A battlefield, cast in the purples, reds, and golds of sunset, appeared. So did a Faceless Phantom armed with a stave identical to her own. Max blew out a sigh, shook out the aches in her shoulders and neck, then took her stave out of its sheath and held it in defense position. Faceless Phantom made no response. He wouldn't respond until Max ordered the program to begin.

"Initiate." Max said.

The computer beeped and Faceless Phantom raised his stave in attack position and advanced. Then the two performed a merry dance around the arena. Their staves bouncing off each other, the holographic one felt as real as the one Max held in her hand. After a while, Max changed it over to Delta-level. In that level, she was fighting two Faceless Phantoms. By the time Delta-level was finished, Max's two-hours of training was done. Her light clothes were sticking to her back and shoulders with sweat and her untidy, brown hair was wet and covered her forehead, ears, and neck.

Max turned the Holodome off, hooked her knives back on her belt, and headed to her room. On her way, she encountered no one, not even her father or Hieronymus – which was a relief to her because she didn't want to encounter Hieronymus anyway. But, when she entered her room, she met someone she had never seen before.

It was a cyboid, covered with dark-blue feathers, wearing a red hat topped with a bobble and the bill facing backwards, red and yellow shoes, and bow-tie wandered around her room. He was looking up at the Shangri-La artifacts hanging on the wall.

Without thinking, Max rushed in, snatched a rod off her desk and whacked the cyboid on the shoulder with enough force to make him hit the wall. Max was on him in a flash; one hand grabbing him by the chest, yanking him upright and pushing him against the wall with her palm flat against his chest hatch, throwing knife in her other hand with the tip against his throat.

"Holy crap you're quick!1" the cyboid said in surprise. Not something Max expected to hear from something she was preparing to kill but it would have to do.

"Who are you? What the hell are you doing in my room?" she asked. The tip of her knife pressing harder against the bird's throat.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was your room. I'll leave if you want me to." he said.

"Fine. But you still didn't answer my question. Who are you?" Max repeated.

"Digit. Digit LeBoid." the cyboid said. "I just came online like an hour ago. My creator told me –"

"You're creator? Who's your creator?" Max demanded.

"H-Hacker!"

Max's hand pressed harder on his chest. "Hacker? Hacker made you?"

"Y-yeah."

"Why? What did he program you for?"

"I'm supposed to assist him with maintenance procedures on Motherboard. At least, that's what my programming is." There was a brief moment of silence. Then, "Uh, would you mind taking that knife out of my throat. It's kinda uncomfortable."

Max loosened her grip and returned the knife to its slot.

"I'll accept that." she said. "Now, tell me what you're doing here."

"He had a room set aside for me. I thought this was the one. I'm sorry for intruding. I should've realized it wasn't mine and left right away it's just you – you have some amazing stuff here. I-I was just fascinated about these things, I just had to look at them."

Max, believing the cyboid wasn't really a threat to her, let him go. He slid down the wall and landed on the floor. She returned the rod to the table, hung her knives and staff on the wall, found a few clean clothes, and headed into her personal bathroom to take a refreshing shower. Digit followed her in.

"So, uh, what is all that stuff? Where'd you get it?" he asked.

Max stepped into the shower, closed the curtains, stripped out of her wet clothes and tossed them on the floor outside. "I spent some time on Cybersite Shangri-La training to be a Warrior. They trained me in the art of Hapkido. Those tools you see out there are the traditional tools of a Hapkido artist."

"I don't even know what Hapkido is." Digit said. He took Max's gi and shook it out until it laid flat on the ground to dry. "You're going to have to be more specific."

Max couldn't blame him for not knowing – she didn't know what Hapkido was either before she started training under Jethro. So she didn't cuss him out or call him stupid. Instead, she set the water temperature to sixty-eight degrees and turned the shower on; yelling over the running water to make herself heard.

"It's a martial arts style that involves using a cane, rod, quarter stave, and throwing knives while incorporating kicks, punches, strikes, joint-locks, and grappling techniques from a bunch of other fighting styles."

"Oh. Okay." Digit said.

He still didn't quite understand and Max didn't quite know how to explain it to him. Jethro tried doing to same thing but even he couldn't get the right layman's terms to describe it.

"So, uh, what's your name?" Digit asked.

"Max. Max Marbles." she answered.

"Marbles? Doesn't that make you –"

"Yeah. I'm Dr. Marbles' daughter."

"His daughter? Well, if that's the case, where'd you get a name like Max? I mean, isn't that like a boy's name?"

Max didn't answer right away. In fact, she thought about not answering that question at all. Yeah, sure it was a boy's name. So what? It was her name and she liked it.

"It's short for Maxanne but nobody ever calls me that." she said. "Dad hardly ever calls me that, anyway."

"Are you close to your dad?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course we're close! He made me to be his kid – and we couldn't wish for anything more."

Digit smiled as he picked at the light cloth that made up her suit. Both suit and belt were red, but the belt was a darker shade of red than the gi.

"So, what's with these clothes? They looks like a pair of pajamas." Digit said.

"They're not pajamas, it's called a gi and it's the traditional uniform of a martial-artist. Gis usually appear black or white. The Warriors of Shangri-La have gis that appear red, because we are the red Warriors."

"Oh. Okay." Digit said. He picked at the belt. "And what's the deal with this thick piece of fabric?"

Max poked her head out past the curtain to see what he was referring to. "Oh. That's my belt. There are nine belt colors: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, purple, red, and black. White being the least experienced of the belt colors and black being the most. Red is the next to last color."

"How soon are you going to get your black belt?"

Max turned the faucet off and shook water from her hair. "Don't know. Maybe in a few years, maybe never." She reached out through the curtain. "Hand me those clean clothes, will you?"

Digit handed her the tanktop and shorts she had set aside along with the towel. Max stayed behind the curtain, dried off, and got dressed. Then, she stepped out of the shower, picked up her clothes, and padded barefoot back into her room where she tossed her wet clothes on her bed to finish drying.

"How long have you been online?" Max asked Digit, running a comb through her hair.

"Couple hours." he said.

"So, you haven't met my dad yet?"

"Not yet. Where is he anyway?"

"On a business trip with Professor Archimedes. He goes on a lot of business trips. Not only is he Motherboard's chief technician, he's also her representative to Cyber-wide meetings."

Digit gave her a funny look. "Wait, Dr. Marbles is Motherboard's chief technician?"

Max returned his funny look. "Yea-s." she said, slowly. "Why? What did Hacker tell you?"

"He said _he_ was Motherboard's chief." Digit said.

Max snorted. "He wishes." she said.

Digit looked quizzically at Max. "Well, is he?"

Max pivoted on her toes and pointed a throwing knife at him. "Let's get something straight, okay. My great-great-grandad, Siren, was the one who invented Motherboard. Motherboard is _his_ legacy. Siren passed his legacy down to his son, Web, who passed it down to his son, Net, who gave it to both his sons, Mathias and Cooper. When the time comes, Mathias is going to pass that legacy onto me because I'm his daughter. Hacker can fantasize about being Motherboard's chief engineer all he wants but I get first dibs on the position when Dad decides to pass it off to somebody."

"But, Hacker looks older than you." Digit said. "Like, ten or fifteen years older."

"He might look older, but he was actually created ten months ago. I was created six years ago. I'm the eldest, therefore I get first choice. If I don't want to be chief engineer, than Hacker gets it. But, the fact is, he's not going to get it. 'Cause I made a promise to my dad that I was going to uphold my second-great grandad, Siren's, legacy. When a Marbles makes a promise, we keep it." Max said. "Got it?"

"Yeah, but what if something were to happen to you?" Digit said.

Max glared at him, suspiciously. "Something were to happen to me? Like . . . what kind of something? You're not planning on deleting me, are you?"

"No. It was just a question. I mean, what if something were to happen to you? Like, what if your circuits went bad beyond repair or what if your battery dies and gets corroded? What then? Would Hacker get to be Chief Engineer then?"

"Probably. But that'll take forever to happen. So chances are he won't get it." Max said. She flipped her knife around so she was holding it by its tip. "Got it."

Digit nodded, vigorously and Max returned the blade to its pouch.

She sat on her bed and stretched, watching the cyboid as he checked out the rest of her tools; snapping at him when he reached to touch the rod.

"Hey! You can look but you can't touch."

"Sorry." he said, sharply withdrawing his wing like he had been shocked.

"S'okay." Max said. She laid back onto her pillow. "It's a common law for Warriors – nobody is allowed to touch the weapons of another. I just ask you follow that rule."

"I will. Don't worry." Digit said.

1

The fact Digit was made by Max's least favorite person didn't really phase her much. In fact, she was beginning to like him. As it turned out, Mathias liked Digit too and he approved of his friendship with Max. But the fact she was beginning to like Digit didn't necessarily mean she was going to like Hieronymus.

Ordinarily when a borg makes another sentient being, a lot of their personality and know-how gets copied into the being's hard drive, which was precisely why Max was quite a bit like Mathias in many respects. But the only thing Hieronymus and Mathias had in common was their intelligence. Hieronymus's appearance and personality were completely different than that of his creator. Digit was also quite a bit different from Hieronymus. Hieronymus was extremely intelligent and Digit . . . well, wasn't so much – if a comparison could be made, Digit had the IQ of an elementary schooler. There were also a lot of things Hieronymus did that could only be called questionable.

For one, he had introduced himself to Digit as Motherboard's chief engineer, leaving out the fact that Mathias was actually holding that position; though Digit had made it clear he knew of Mathias. Two, Hieronymus was caught once by Motherboard for the unauthorized downloading of programs he wasn't supposed to have. The consequences of his actions resulted in him being grounded and he had to perform window-washing duties in Max's stead. The third thing he did was attempt to double his gigabytes and crashed the data storage system in the terminal he was using to perform the action. Motherboard grounded him then too. Max and Digit couldn't get over the hilarity of it all. Especially when Digit managed a passable imitation of Hieronymus stuttering in front of Motherboard when his infractions were discovered.2

While Digit's impersonation of Hieronymus was amazing enough – Max could've sworn it was Hieronymus in the room when she closed her eyes to listen – what was even more amazing was when Digit actually controlled both sides of the overheard conversation by imitating Motherboard. The action sent Max roaring with laughter and that was Digit's ticket into Max's life.

The two became inseparable after that. Max even went as far as to let Digit sit in the Holodome and watch her practice her Hapkido – something only Mathias had been allowed to see before Digit. Now that the two were friends, Digit could often be seen in sleep-mode on a pillow in Max's bed, her arm over his body as though attempting to protect him from some unseen danger.

Then again, maybe Max _was_ trying to protect Digit from something, but Mathias couldn't put his finger on what. Until one fateful night when their future was changed for the worst.

0

During her training on Shangri-La, Max had developed a new skill: How to remain in sleep-mode while still being able to sense when someone was going to hurt or touch her. Of course, while this came in handy, it was also a little annoying. Max always got up before Mathias who always got up before Hieronymus. But Digit always got up before Max – Digit discovered he had a wonderful gift for cooking and he got up early so he could fix breakfast for everyone. Max didn't mind if Digit got up before her. In fact, it took a lot of time out of her morning trying to figure out what she wanted before meditation and Hapkido practice. But Digit wanted Max to join him in the kitchen.

Max knew Digit was trying to wake her up. She could feel his wings on her shoulder, shaking her, and hear his voice as he stage-whispered her name. She continued to ignore him, not realizing Hieronymus had made Digit to be a persistent little booger. However, Max was much more stubborn that Digit and, eventually, the cyboid gave up and headed for the kitchens.

Max knew it was very late when Digit started shaking her. She had only just gotten out of her second round of meditation and was getting into sleep-mode when her door hissed open. Digit's wing feathers touched Max's shoulder and she thought about hitting him. Trying to wake her up at six am. was one thing, but ten pm. was quite another.

"Max!" he stage-whispered, his voice urgent. "Max, please, wake up."

The urgency to his voice was enough to make her think something bad was up. Opening one eye, she could see he was on edge and she didn't like that one bit.

"Digit, what is it?" Max asked, stretching and yawning.

"It's Hacker. He's in the control center working on Motherboard right now." Digit said.

"So?" Max said. She didn't understand the difference right away.

"So! Instead of putting something in, he's taking something out." Digit said.

"Like what? He works maintenance, Didge. It's his job to take something out." Max told him.

"Uh, call me ignorant, but I don't think an encryptor chip is supposed to be removed." Digit said.

"WHAT! He's taking out Motherboard's encryptor chip! Why didn't you just say so?"

"I thought you would get my clues! You're supposed to be smart, you know!" Digit said.

"Never mind." Max growled. "Just get Dad. Tell him to come up to the control center right away. I'm going to prove Hacker was bad news from the very beginning."

Digit saw the look in Max's eyes and knew better than to argue. He powered up his propeller and took off toward Mathias' room.

Max slipped into her gi, tied on her belt, and stuffed her nunchuks into her belt. As a second thought, Max grabbed her sparring staff off their brackets on the wall. Then ran out of her room, down the hall, and rushed onto the control floor. She saw Hieronymus, with the encryptor chip in hand, slip out from under the terminal, carry the chip to a large safe and drop it in.

Max rushed in with a yell and knocked Hieronymus's legs out from underneath him. Hieronymus yelped in surprise as he fell to the floor. Max quickly sat on him and pointed the edge of her sparring staff at his neck.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Max warned.

Hieronymus grinned at her. "Why Max, what are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from making a huge mistake. I knew you were bad from the moment I met you. I tried telling Dad but you somehow managed to slip out of everything – somehow evading my accusations. But now I've caught you and you won't get away this time."

"Is that what this is all about? You think I'm evil, huh?"

"I don't _think_ you're evil, I _know_ you're evil. I just saw you try to unplug Motherboard."

"What? That? I was merely analyzing the encryptor chip, that's all."

"By putting it in a safe?"

"That's not a safe. It's an analyzer."

"It looks like a safe to me."

"Well, it's not a safe."

"Still looks like one. Has a few combinations on it. No viewer. It's a safe."

"Is not."

"Is to."

"Is not."

"Is to."

"It is a safe." Mathias said as he strode into the room.

It had taken even longer for Digit to wake Mathias up and get him to understand what Hieronymus was doing. Mathias had given Digit plenty of "message error" responses – meaning, he didn't understand what the cyboid meant – before Digit blurted out "Hacker's taking Motherboard's encryptor chip!" Once those words were out of the cyboid's beak, the doc was on his feet and out the door, throwing on his zip-up jacket as he went.

Digit cracked the code, opened the safe, dropped the encryptor chip into Mathias' hand, and watched him reinstall it.

"Because of your actions, Hieronymus, you are no longer welcome here." Motherboard said, once she came online and everything had been explained to her.

"You all are making a big mistake." Hieronymus said. "I wasn't going to destroy Motherboard, I was running a systems check on the encryptor chip."

"Hieronymus, we execute these checks using the terminals, not a safe." Mathias said. He nodded to Max. "Take him to the launching bay. There is a small Cyberpod prepared. Put him in and wait until I get there."

"Got it, Dad." Max said. She hauled Hieronymus roughly to his feet and shoved him to the elevator; hissing a warning that told him she knew how to use her stave and wouldn't think twice about cracking his head with it.

Mathias ran a final check on Motherboard, then went down to the launch bay to see everything for himself. Max had situated Hieronymus in the Cyberpod and was standing at the edge of the pod with her staff pointed straight at him.

"What are you planning on doing with this loser, Dad?" Max asked, sharply.

Mathias didn't answer her. Instead, he hauled a generator out of a closet and attached a hose to it. He tossed the other end of the hose to Max and told her to insert it into Hieronymus's charging outlet. Max did as was instructed and waited. Immediately, Hieronymus's power began draining, Mathias berating him all the while.

"You were created to serve and defend Motherboard. Instead, you have chosen to betray our trust by trying to destroy her. While I could permanently delete you, Hacker, I have chosen, instead, to downgrade your perpetual power supply and banish you to the Northern Frontier."

"Someday . . . somehow . . . I will return. And I'll take over all of Cyberspace." Hieronymus said. "And when I do, you will pay."3

Mathias tugged on the hose, yanking it out of Hieronymus's charging outlet. Then, he ran up to the pod. Max jumped down and shut the lid.

"Page down, Hacker. Your file is closed."4 he said, touching the launching unit which sent Hieronymus away from Control Central.

Max remained silent throughout the entire scene – not even daring to say "I told you so". She had never seen her father so angry before. But, she suspected he was more angry with himself then with Hieronymus. And she couldn't help but wonder if they were making a big mistake letting Hieronymus go.

* * *

1"Holy crap you're quick!" - Peanut, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity

2Reference - "Secrets of Symmetria" episode 110

3"You were created to serve and defend Motherboard. Instead, you have chosen to betray our trust by trying to destroy her. While I could permanently delete you, Hacker, I have chosen, instead, to downgrade your perpetual power supply and banish you to the Northern Frontier.", "Someday . . . somehow . . . I will return. And I'll take over all of Cyberspace." Hacker said. "And when I do, you will pay." - Taken from Cyberchase episode 107, Day at the Spa

4"Page down, Hacker. You're file is closed." - Taken from Cyberchase episode 107, Day at the Spa


	7. Return of a Demon

_Chapter Seven. It's a little long but there was a lot in there. Footnotes are there just like before. enjoy.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Seven  
Return of a Demon

Three weeks had passed since Hacker's banishment. Since that time, Control Central had turned into a relatively quiet domain; all because Mathias Marbles dropped into a depressive slump. A slump which concerned Max, Digit, and Motherboard, but they could understand why.

All Mathias' life, he had been taught to only make things that would make life in Cyberspace better for the citizens there. Mathias had devoted his life only to protecting and caring for Motherboard and for one of his creations to try to destroy her, he didn't know how useful he was anymore.

While Max felt relieved that Hacker was now gone and she didn't have to yell and scream at him to stay away from her, she was sad for her father who had created the monster and had refrained from telling her father "I told you so" because she knew this situation was not the least bit funny. Her father was depressed. Sentient life was a difficult thing to control because of the free-will program installed in everyone's hard drive. Mathias knew the risks when he created Max and Hacker. He knew there was a chance one or both of his creations would rebel against their purposes – rebellion was a common occurrence in borgs, some borgs were accepting of their purposes and others wanted something other than what they were supposed to be.

"Look at it this way, Dad." Max said over dinner four nights after Hacker's betrayal and banishment. "Something good came out of Hacker's existence."

Mathias looked up at her. "Message error." he said.

Max pointed to the cyboid next to her. "Digit."

That got a smile out of her father. It was no secret Mathias liked Digit. The kookie, klutzy cyboid was easy to love because of his kindness and willing to help.

"You're observation has been confirmed, Max. But we must terminate this discussion for another time." Mathias said, his smile gone.

Max nodded. "Okay. Sorry for bringing it up, Dad." she said, returning to the pot roast Digit had prepared.

The conversation had been a little too soon to discuss to begin with. Then again, perhaps Mathias would never have been willing to discuss it.

While Mathias' behavior shook Max and Digit up, Motherboard's own reaction to Hacker's betrayal was even more disturbing. The all-seeing computer amped up security on her domain and no visitors were allowed to enter the control room without having a passkey on them to prove they were supposed to be there. Digit and the two borgs had to tell Motherboard where they were going to be at all times so a sudden burst of energy in a part of Control Central wouldn't freak Motherboard out. Thankfully, Max had a routine schedule she stuck to in the morning so even power fluctuations in the Holo-dome became expected.

Because Mathias was missing an extra hand in Motherboard's repairs, Max had to cut her training time in half and resorted to doing only two levels of two training exercises for twenty-minutes at a time so she would finish in time to help her father. Digit even jumped in to help which was wonderful because Digit could fit inside the most narrow of places.

Apart from their conversation at the dinner table, a request for a certain tool or part, and Mathias' request for more help, Mathias said little to nothing at all. Max loved her father but she hated the silence and she wished he would get over Hacker's betrayal. Yeah, it happened. So what? Mathias just didn't know how to deal with it knowing he had created something that almost destroyed Motherboard. She didn't want to seem insensitive about her father's feelings, but she couldn't help but feel Mathias had taken the betrayal a little too hard.

While Max was relieved Hacker was gone, she still wasn't sure if letting him go was really the best decision her father ever made. She couldn't help but think back to what Hacker said before his departure:

"_Someday . . . somehow . . . I will return. And I'll take over all of Cyberspace. And when I do, you will pay. Especially you. I'll make you pay double for what you've done to me."_

Normally Max didn't put much stock in threats. It was her experience that the most likely person to make a threat was usually the kind of person who was least likely to carry it out. Max usually saved her breath when it came to making threats, because she refused to make them if she wasn't going to carry them out.

Two weeks after Hacker's betrayal, Max received a message on her SQWACK Pad. She had been leaving the SQWACK out just in case anyone out in Cyberspace – including Master Pi or anyone on Shangri-La – needed her to come to the rescue. She heard the ring tone sound in her bedroom while she was taking a shower but couldn't get to it in time to find out who it was. She dried off, changed her clothes, and wandered back into her room only to find the screen flashing at her.

_1 missed call. 1 message. Receive now?_ The SQWACK asked.

Max punched in "1" for yes and listened to the recorded voice message.

"_Seven days."__1_

That was it. Two words. No name. No face. No number. Just a deep voice growling into the microphone.

Seven days.

Seven days 'til what?

For some reason, that message sent shivers down her spine. She didn't like how those two words sounded on her SQWACK and she definitely didn't like how they were said.

Max slipped the SQWACK into the back of her belt and left the room. She didn't know who said it and, quite frankly, she didn't care. She didn't bother asking her father, Digit, or Motherboard if they had received similar messages. But she did not know she should have heeded the message better. Because seven days after she received the message, she received a surprise visit from an unwanted visitor.

1

Max didn't know what woke her up. It couldn't have been Digit, because her dear little cyboid friend was resting easier beside her than ever since Hacker's betrayal. But Max's touchy sleep-mode suddenly ended and she couldn't help but think something bad was about to happen.

Max eased her arm out from underneath Digit – over the past few weeks, Max had started holding Digit closer to her while they slept and slowly easing him away night after night. So far, he slept without much of a problem but there had been occasions when he woke Max up at the slightest noise in the night. Tonight, he slept without making even the smallest noise and Max moved without waking him. She sat up and crossed her arms over her knees; listening intently to anything out of the ordinary. Other than the hum of the generators in the basement of Control Central, Max heard nothing. She barely even heard her father's faint snores in the room down the hall.

She sighed. _Well, whatever it was, it's nothing to worry about now._ she thought.

As she laid back she suddenly became aware of thirst and got up to get a drink of water from her private bathroom. She poured herself a glass, took a few long pulls, then returned to her room with the remainder.

"Max!"

Max's head came up. She had been so tired she hadn't even noticed someone else was in the room until Digit's voice grabbed her attention. A nightstand light clicked on, bathing the three of them in a warm, yellow light. Max's glass clattered to the floor, spilling water across the linoleum, when she saw Hacker standing by her bed; Digit held snug to his chest in what could only be described as a choke-hold, Hacker's other hand on the cyboid's head.

Hacker grinned at her. "Hello, Max."

"Hacker!" Max said with a snarl.

"Did you miss me?" he asked.

"Not even a little." she said.

His grinned slackened a little but not enough. It was still there, curving at the edges right above the long, pointy chin. "Aw. That hurt, Max. Is that any way to greet your big brother?"

"You're not my big brother. You weren't even supposed to be my brother. So don't even use that word." Max said.

He was garbed in a long, purple cape over a white shirt and black pants and boots. He appeared to have gained some weight which was by no means flattering on him. It gave his chest a funnel-like appearance and made his feet look even smaller. Hacker's cape swirled as he edged closer to Max. Max didn't have any of her tools on her, but she didn't really need them. She had also practiced weaponless sparring techniques in the Holo-dome. If she wanted to, she could wipe the floor with him using only the striking and grappling techniques.

Apparently Hacker knew what Max was thinking about and gave Digit's head a forceful tug which caused the cyboid to whimper.

"Don't even think about it. One false move, Max, and I'll break his neck. Don't think I won't." he said.

Max relaxed. She didn't have a good enough shot at Hacker anyway. She could go for the itty-bitty legs, but chances were Digit would be smothered under Hacker's considerable weight.

"What do you want, Hacker?" she asked.

"What do you think I want? I want to be ruler of Cyberspace and I would have been ruler of Cyberspace if _you_ hadn't stopped me."

"That was a service I was happy to provide." Max said.

"I'm sure you were." Hacker said. "But you shouldn't have intervened. If you had just let it go, I probably would have spared you."

"Spared me from what?"

"From a lot of things. I have a lot of plans for you, Max. No, I'm not going to delete you. At least not yet. I have too much planned for you ahead of time. But by the time I'm through with you, you'll wish Marbles had never charged your batteries and activated you."

"I'm a Warrior of Shangri-La, Hacker. You want to go toe-to-toe with me, be prepared to take the pain."

"Which is precisely why I've targeted you now. You can't get to your weapons and you can't attack me without hurting your friend." For emphasis, he pulled at Digit's head, again and the cyboid hissed. "See?"

"I still don't understand what you want." Max said.

"I already told you that. I want to be Supreme Ruler of Cyberspace. But, since I can't have that yet, I'll settle on you. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which would you prefer?"

"I thought you weren't just going to target me. What happened to making my father pay?"

"Oh, I'm going to make him pay, too. If there's anything I understand at all about Dr. Mathias Marbles, it's that he values you over everyone else in Cyberspace – even over Motherboard. You mean a lot to him. So, I figure that if I take you, your father would have to live with the knowledge of never knowing if he would ever see you again – alive or dead. He would have to live out the rest of his warranty without you. For now, that is punishment enough for him."

"So what now? You have to know I won't willingly come with you."

"I've already thought of that. See Max, I was given the brain of a genius. I already possessed the ability to think ahead. I've spent these last few months studying you and Mathias. I know you care a lot about your father and you care a lot about this supercilious Cyber-turkey – for whatever reason. I knew that you wouldn't willingly come with me. I would need some leverage and you gave it to me.

"So, here's your choice: come with me now, silently, or I will kill this ridiculous-looking excuse for a chicken. If you continue to refuse, your father will be the next to go."

Max listened to Hacker's voice. Then, she suddenly thought about the "seven days" message.

"Wait. The message on my SQWACK . . . that was you, wasn't it?"

Hacker grinned. "You just _now_ figured that out?"

"You've been planning this a long time, haven't you?"

"It's all I've thought about since you foiled my plan for complete domination."

"So, you're obsessive. I had no idea that was a quality Dad possessed, either."

"You're stalling, Max. And in doing so you're also wasting time for Digit to remain alive. So, which is it? Do you want me to kill him or are you going to come with me?"

Max stared at him. She knew he wasn't kidding. He would eliminate Digit and Mathias if he wanted to. He would take away everything Max ever cared about, and he would do it without hesitating.

"Which is it?" Hacker repeated.

"Max. Don't give in to him. Forget about me. I'm not worth it." Digit said, straining past Hacker's ever-tightening arm around his neck.

"He might not be worth it, but what about your father? Are you going to sacrifice him as well?" Hacker put in. "Well, are you?"

Another tug at Digit's head – this one harder than the last ones – made Max's mind up for her.

"Stop! Let him go! I'll come with you! Just leave my dad and my friend alone!" she said.

"Good girl. I was hoping you'd make the right choice." Hacker said, tossing Digit back on the bed. He pulled something out of his pocket. "Now, come here."

"What are you going to do?"

"You may have given yourself up to me, but I still don't trust you. You are a Warrior after all, the will to survive runs deep within you. Now, come here or say good-bye to your friend." Hacker said.

Max glared at him. "You're an asshole, you know that?" she said.

"Name calling is not going to make the situation any better." Hacker said. He leveled a rod at Digit who was still trembling on Max's covers. "One last time. Get over here."

Max approached, her bare feet gently scraping across the surface of the linoleum. She kept walking until he told her to stop. When he told her to turn around and kneel, she did as was instructed. Hacker pushed her head down and pressed the rod against her neck. Max gave a gasp, then collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"You monster! What did you do to her?" Digit asked.

Hacker transferred the rod back to his cloak and pulled out another one. "Don't worry your stupid little head about it. She's only in stand-by mode, nothing more. It's the same way it's going to go for you."

"For me? What do you mean?" Digit asked.

"I created you. Therefore, you belong to me and because you belong to me, I can do what I like with you. But, like your miserable little friend here, I can't trust you not to try to escape. So I'm going to temporarily immobilize you." Hacker said.

"After this, are you going to leave Control Central? Are you going to leave Motherboard and the doc unharmed?"

"For now." Hacker said.

Before Digit could come up with more excuses, Hacker thrust the rod at him and Digit collapsed in a heap on the blankets. Hacker placed the rod back in his cape and pulled out a length of rope and a sack with a drawstring tie. He stuffed Digit in the sack, then tied Max's hands in front of her body and hefted her to his back with her wrists at his throat. With Max riding piggy-back style and Digit in his hand, Hacker left Control Central; making a mental note to return very soon.

0

The next morning, Dr. Mathias Marbles awoke to something he was unprepared to find. He found Max and Digit both missing and he knew who had done the deed. Now, he wished he had never made that monster at all.

* * *

1"Seven days." - Samara in the Ring


	8. Start of a Nightmare

_Chapter Eight. It's a little long. Footnotes are there just like before. enjoy.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Eight  
Start of a Nightmare

Max was slow waking up after being buzzed in the neck with an object she wasn't able to identify. Her head felt like little guys with mallets were running hanging pictures in her brain and her vision was fuzzy. She slowly sat up, groaning as her headache worsened, and leaned against the arching wall of a structure behind her. Max blinked several times, the blurriness alleviating bit by bit. She pressed her palm to her forehead as she looked around.

She was in a large hanger of sorts. A cyber-scooter in one corner and half-finished parts of a craft toward the middle of the hanger. From the size of the pieces, Max could only assume it was supposed to be a giant Cyber-coop – of sorts – capable of long-distance travel across Cyberspace. A craft that size could be useful for one thing and one thing alone: wreaking havoc and destruction all around Cyberspace.

"Oh, my head."

A moan dragged Max's attention over to the huddled form beside her. Digit! He slowly sat up and pressed a wing to his temple. A chain tied around his ankle made noise when he moved. Max looked and saw she had a chain similar to the one Digit was wearing and wondered why that was. Then remembered Hacker's visit to her room.

"What happened? How'd we get here?" he asked, looking at Max.

Max pulled him closer to her and draped a comforting arm over his shoulders. "What do you remember?" she asked as a way of answering his question.

"I remember falling asleep next to you. Then waking up when something grabbed me – oh circuit breakers! We're on the Northern Frontier!" Digit said. He momentarily forgot his headache and latched onto Max's arm with his wings.

Max reached across herself and stroked his head. She was relatively calm despite the bad situation they were in. She had no idea what Hacker could possibly have in mind for her – and she was certain it wasn't going to be good or pleasant – but her Shield-Maiden's training on Shangri-La had gifted her with a cool head. Fear, anxiety, and panic were things that clouded one's judgment and Max couldn't afford to have her judgment clouded.

"It'll be okay, Digit." Max said, gently patting him on the shoulder.

"But what if it's not? You have to know he's going to do something bad to you! How is that going to be okay?"

"Look Didge, I know this probably isn't going to end well for either of us. Particularly for myself and for Hacker. But I'm not going to let this get to me. I can't afford to have a mind clouded with fear – that's not the Warrior way.

"I know this looks bad. But the only thing Hacker wants is to punish me for doing my civic duty and protecting Motherboard. Believe it or not, I don't care about what he does to me. I made a promise to my father five years ago that I would protect and serve Motherboard to the best of my ability. If he wants to punish me for doing my job, so be it. But I won't apologize and I won't beg for mercy.

"I did my job that night. I protected Motherboard and I did it all without any thought of my own safety. I did it with a clear mind, a straight face, and a strong arm. And, I did it all with Hapkido. I did it just the way Jethro and Red taught me. I spent three years learning how to be a Shield-Maiden. Now I may not be a Shield-Maiden at the moment and I may not become a Shield-Maiden, but my training is still the same. I was in training so I could do more for Motherboard other than the maintenance work I had originally been programmed for. I did my job when I protected Motherboard and because I did it, Cyberspace breathed a sigh of relief and praised me for my quick thinking and actions. I can rest easy knowing Motherboard is alright now."

"How can you be so calm?" Digit asked.

"Because I'm a Warrior. Hacker is nothing more than a selfish coward. No matter what he does to me, it will only return to him ten-fold." Max said.

Digit leaned into her, his wing tightening over her arm. "But I'm not a Warrior. I've never been trained to be a Warrior. I was programmed to assist. What if he decides to punish me for telling you, for helping you? I'm not as strong as you, Max. I don't know what will happen!"

Max moved her arm out of his grip and tugged him even closer. "Then stick close to me. I'll protect you. For as long as you need me."

"Thanks Max." Digit said.

He laid his head down over her knees and she began slowly stroking his feathers while she hummed. She wasn't humming any song in particular. She just made a noise in her throat that rose and fell in tempo and made a half-decent song. Thankfully, Digit didn't have an ear for music so even Max's botched attempts to make music activated his sleep-mode. Max's soothing finger-strokes helped, too; straightening out feathers that had been ruffled when he was stuffed in the sack.

Max leaned her head against the wall. Even though she had said her speech about not caring for what Hacker was going to her and telling him about her Warrior's training, Max was actually somewhat frightened. She did, in a way, care about what he had planned for her. The fact she was calm was just a front to keep Digit from freaking out.

Max leaned her head against the wall and shut her eyes. She didn't like lying to Digit but she didn't want him getting all hysterical. Nothing good ever came out of getting hysterical.

Max felt something touch her foot.

"Hey! Wake up."

She opened her eyes and looked, hatefully, up at the borg towering above her. Hacker! He carried something that was covered by a large sheet over one shoulder, his green hand also covered by the sheet.

"You've slept enough today."

"I wasn't sleeping. I was just resting my eyes. Besides, I have reason to believe it wasn't a natural sleep, was it?"

Hacker grinned. "No it wasn't."

"You injected me with something. What was it?"

"Nano-droids. Very small robots that –"

"I know what Nanos are, Hacker. I'm not stupid."

"But you're not as smart as me."

"We have the same level of brainpower. We were just designed for different purposes, that's all."

"Yes. And your purpose has been nothing but a broken circuit in my side since I came online."

"Funny. I was about to say the same about your purpose. I'm surprised you would be willing to mess with those temperamental little things. Nanos are dangerous. You know you could have killed me?"

"I worked a long time reprogramming them to immobilize a target."

"I'm sure you have."

Hacker's grin widened. "What's wrong, Max? Is that a hint of jealousy I'm detecting?"

"In. Your. Dreams."

His grin vanished and he hefted the object laying over his shoulder. "Don't mess with me, Max. Remember, I almost eliminated Motherboard. I will not hesitate doing the same to you."

Max carefully moved Digit off her lap and stood up, her chain jangling. "You wanna go toe-to-toe with me, pretty boy?" she asked.

"Go for it."1 he said.

Her eyes darted to the object on his shoulder. "What's that?"

"Oh, just insurance you'll do what I want."

Max snorted. "I doubt it."

Hacker whipped the blanket off his shoulder, revealing an enormous gun. It resembled a grappling gun with a four-pronged tip.2 He waved the enormous weapon under her nose.

"Do you see this? Do you know what this is?3 This is a Dematerializer and I will not hesitate using it on you!"

Max stared at the weapon. "Dematerializer, huh? How'd you make it? The material to make that stuff are highly unstable chemicals. I'm surprised you were able to construct a weapon capable of withstanding the acidity of the chemicals."

"That's just the thing, Max. It took me a while to figure out how to store the chemicals in this gun without it deconstructing on me. But then, I accidentally discovered if the chemicals are frozen, the deconstructing process is placed in suspended animation. However, since the chemicals are highly unstable, as soon as it leaves the barrel, it thaws out . . . and deconstructs everything it touches."

Max stared at him through her bangs. "You're really too smart for your own good." she said.

"So are you, sometimes." Hacker pointed out.

He thrust a hand against her chest, pushing her back on the floor next to Digit. Digit had already slipped out of sleep-mode when Max started asking about the Dematerializer. No sooner had Max landed next to him on the floor than he grabbed her arm in both wings and squeezed her tightly; panic showing on his face. Max remained stoic, slowly reaching across herself to touch Digit on the head in a comforting fashion.

"I'm going to explain this to you only once, so listen closely. You will do what I say when I say it. If either of you refuses, you will be punished." Hacker said, strutting back and forth in front of his two prisoners.

Max's eyes darted to the Dematerializer still on Hacker's shoulder. Hacker's smile widened and he showed far too many pearly-white teeth.

"No, not with this. I have no desire to delete you . . . at least not yet. This is only assurance that you will cooperate with me."

"In your dreams." Max repeated.

"Watch it, Max." Hacker warned. "That smart mouth of yours will get you in trouble some day."

"That's what I hear."

They glared at each other, neither one wanting to give any leash to the other.

"I consider myself an even tempered borg. It takes a lot to get under my skin, but congratulations, you just won the solid-gold Kewpie doll."4 Hacker said. "But, if you continue to try my patience, I will be forced to eliminate you. Let me remind you that I will dance over you grave when you're nothing but a pile of ones and zeros."

"I should say the same about you." Max said.

Hacker knew he was getting nowhere with Max. He laid the Dematerializer down and reached over his right shoulder. He pulled out something long, thick, and heavy. With a forceful swing, he caught Max on the side of the head with the object and she fell over, holding her temple with one hand. She didn't cry out or yell in pain. She just lay there, waiting for the numbness to set in.

Hacker held the object in his right fist and grabbed Max by the front of her nightshirt with the other; pulling her upright.

"That was just a warning. Any more smart comments like that will result in something much worse. Do we understand each other?"

"Perfectly." Max said in a harsh tone. Her eyes left Hacker's face and went to the object he hit her with; her temper flaring when she saw it was her quarter stave. "What are you doing with that?" she asked.

"This is part of your punishment, Max." Hacker said. He released her and held the stave in both hands. "You defeated me with this little trinket and, for that reason, I have decided you no longer deserve to have it."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Not quite. The night you defeated me, you used it to knock the neutrons out of me. I've seen you with this stave. You seem to treasure it over all your other weapons. And since you treasure it, it seems only fitting I should come into possession of it. Don't you agree?"

"Not really."

"I didn't think you would. That's another reason why I have come into possession of it. If you badmouth me again, I will not hesitate using it on you. Same goes for disobedience. I will also not hesitate using it on either one of you. Particularly you, Max. I look forward to beating the neutrons out of you."

"I bet you do."

Hacker raised the stave to hit her again. Max never flinched, her eyes locked onto his. Hacker knew he couldn't intimidate Max into doing what he wanted and he realized she simply didn't care what he did to her. Her loyalties will always lie with Motherboard and that annoyed him.

"In time you _will_ accept my authority over you. Just you wait." He returned the stave to its sheath.

Max stood up. "It does not matter how long you beat me, I will _never_ accept you as leader of Cyberspace. You got that? _Never_! Neither will anyone else, for that matter. So, you can beat me, hit me, punch me, turn me into spare parts, or dematerialize me – it doesn't matter. You will never be leader of Cyberspace and I will never bend to your will. That's a promise."

She nodded at the Dematerializer on the floor and spread her arms out. "Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I suggest you pick that thing up and use it on me."

Hacker shoved her down again. "I'm not going to use it on you yet. But I will. Once I have no more use for you, that is." He leaned down until they were nose-to-nose and eye-to-eye with each other. "So you had better hope you are still useful to me. The alternative would be very, very . . . _unfortunate_."

* * *

1"You wanna go toe-to-toe with me, pretty boy?", "Go for it." - Avatar: Legend of Korra, episode 105

2Design copied from Arc Welder in Star Trek Voyager Single Player and Holomatch

3"Do you see this? Do you know what this is?" - Partial quote of Eric Cartman, South Park episode 1104, The Snuke

4"I consider myself to be a patient [borg]. It takes a lot to get under my skin, but congratulations, you just won the solid-gold Kewpie doll." - revamped quote from Atlantis: The Lost Empire; original speech by Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke.


	9. Effects of Magnetite

_Chapter Nine. It's a little long. I got a little excited with this one b/c it's the one where big changes are coming our way. especially for max. Footnotes are there just like before. enjoy.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Nine  
Effects of Magnetite

_This isn't as easy as I thought it would be._ Hacker thought.

Over the last few weeks, Hacker had forced Max and Digit to build his new Cyber-coop – a vehicle he had already dubbed "The Grimm Wreaker" - and, so far, Max had been very uncooperative. This wouldn't have been much of a problem except Hacker didn't know what to do about it. She showed total disregard to his authority, even going as far as to call him some rather unflattering names, and she always had a snappy come-back for anything he could say to her. The worst part was, Hacker couldn't punish her for it. Hitting her either with the back of his hand or with her stave wasn't motivation enough. She continued to defy him and even if he did punish her, she never yelled, screamed, or begged for mercy. Instead, she stared at him through her forelocks; glaring hateful daggers in his direction.

The fact Max hated him did nothing to slow him down or stop him from trying to complete his dream of trying to obtain complete Cyber-domination. But she continued to be difficult with him, making Hacker believe he needed to continually assert his authority. Sometimes, he would call her out on just the smallest thing – whether it was a spot of oil on the floor or a part dropping out of place, it didn't matter. Hacker would haul her away and start hitting her either with his hand or with her stave. He decided hitting and yelling at her was better than deleting her. Using the Dematerializer on her would be far too quick and easy. He didn't want quick and easy. He knew Max would rather be deleted than stay another night in the hanger with him. Deleting her would only give her exactly what she wanted, and he was trying very hard not to do that.

Usually, the only time Hacker would penalize Max was when he felt in the mood for doing it. Every day, he came around, looking over everything his two prisoners had done. If he saw anything out of line, he always picked Max. It didn't even matter if it was Max who did it, either, nor did Hacker care who did it. Someone had to pay and since Max was being a nuisance, she was the most likely candidate. Plus, Max was much more sturdy than Digit. If Hacker even did half the things he did to Max, he could very well be destroyed. Hacker couldn't afford to destroy Digit, at least not yet. So far, Digit had been the more obedient of the two. Hacker had hopes the cyboid would turn to his side. He also hoped that he could force Digit to turn to his side by showing the cyboid what he was capable of. Punishing Max seemed like a good way to go. At least punishing Max forced Digit to cooperate, but while it worked for Digit, it didn't work so well for Max.

Hacker leaned against his chair and looked over at the heap of scrap where the remains of the Cyber-ash quarter-stave now lay. A week ago, Hacker had broken the stave over Max's back while he was yelling at her for being so clumsy – she wasn't clumsy, of course, but he wanted to belittle her as much as possible and the clumsy comment seemed like the way to go. She hadn't made any sound, nor did she twitch. The fact she wasn't reacting to him beating her only frustrated him, and in his frustration he overpowered a hit to her back. The stave broke with an audible _crack!_ and shards of Cyber-ash rained down upon the astonished, young borg. She stared at the pieces through her forelocks. Then, slowly raised her head so her dark-brown eyes met Hacker's black ones. He saw the hate and loathing there and knew he had committed a serious infraction against herself as well as the Warriors of Shangri-La. She was giving him a _"I kill you!"__1_look. A look which frightened Hacker, but didn't dare show it.

Hacker didn't know what to do with her. She was being disobedient to him, but he never saw her be disobedient to her father. Of course, he could understand why. Mathias was her father and Hacker was her kidnapper and enemy. But he had to do something. Otherwise his henchmen would starting believing it was okay to disobey him too.

A couple weeks ago, Hacker had built two robots to keep Max and Digit in line while he was making other plans. The robots weren't really all that smart, but at least they obeyed him – much better than Digit, who was a pathetic excuse for a henchman – and they were loyal but extremely klutzy.

Hacker couldn't help but grin in satisfaction the morning after both robots came online. He had worked tirelessly through the night putting them together, and after switching them on, he sent them out to rouse Max and Digit. Max was not a happy camper when they woke her.

"Up and at 'em, you two. Time to start work." said one of the robots.

"Ye-ah." said the other. "We're here to make sure you do everything the boss tells you to. Aha-ahahahahaha."

Max punched one robot in the jaw, grabbed them both by the antenna and threw him on the garbage pile. She stood in a half-hunched position and glared after them. Both were poorly built, designed primarily to do minimal grunt work, and it was obvious Hacker hadn't put much care in building them.

One was built like a watermelon on two legs. He had a big, red mouth with white fangs growing out of the bottom jaw, black antenna topped with yellow radio receivers, a black robber's mask over yellow rimmed eyes, and tiny hands. The other had a trashcan body, blocky legs, long arms with yellow hands, a dog-like face, antenna, and a robber's mask.

Max watched them extricate themselves from the pile of rotting food, oil-soaked rags, and scrap metal. Digit peered at the two robots around Max's leg, one wing holding onto her calf and his head half-buried in the torn remnants of her nightshirt hem. The two bots approached, picking garbage off themselves. They stopped just short of Max's reach.

"What was that about?" the watermelon-bot asked.

"Ye-ah. What was that?" the dog-bot asked.

"You touched me." Max said, harshly. "Nobody touches me."

"He's touching you." the dog-bot said, pointing to Digit.

"He's an exception." Max said.

"How come?" Watermelon-bot asked.

"I like him."

The two bots contemplated this a moment.

Max relaxed a moment. The bots seemed too stupid to be much of a threat to anybody. Least of all, Digit. "What'cha called?" she asked.

"I'm Buzz. That's Delete." said the watermelon-bot.

_Buzz and Delete. Go figure he would use a couple of short, easy names for two dumb robots._ Max thought, scathingly.

"Well, come on, you two. Time to get to work. Move it." Buzz said.

Max held her ankle out. "If we're going to do that, change the chains."

"Huh? Why would we want to do that?" Delete asked.

Max regarded him. _Are these two really that stupid?_ "These chains are mounted to the wall. There's another set of chains over there. Those are set aside to keep us from running off while we work."

"Whatever." Buzz said.

He and Delete went and got the chains. After hooking the two prisoners together, they untied the wall-mounted chains and directed Max and Digit to the temporary workbench where Hacker laid out the parts for the engines. The two prisoners mounted their stools and set to work. Hacker didn't have any plans laid out, but it didn't matter. Max had a working knowledge of building engines. Digit didn't. But he had a working knowledge of which part to hand her, so every time her hand came out, he would slap a part into her hand, scrub nurse style.

The two robots lounged apart from the prisoners on a pair of discarded seats, keeping one eye on them to discourage running away. Max could very well have beaten the neutrons out of them and run off with Digit under her arm. Problem would have been getting off the Northern Frontier.

The robots never said a word except tell them to hurry up if they thought Max and Digit weren't being fast enough. Buzz even once posed a question.

"Why are you the only one working on the engine?"

Max swiveled on her stool to stare at the robot. "I'm not the only one. Digit is doing something called 'helping'. It's a common occurrence between people who like each other." She went back to work screwing the fuselage to the rear of the engine. "Anyway, he doesn't know how to build an engine. I do. And since I was started up before him, of course I would be the one in charge of the project. Which would make him my assistant." She reached across and ruffled the metallic feathers on Digit's shoulder. "He makes a good assistant, too."

The robots said nothing to this. Instead, they watched as Max and Digit put the engine together. Within two-and-a-half hours, the engine was finished, installed, and Hacker handed Max a box for the next project.

1

It took about a month before the _Grimm Wreaker_ was finished. And when it was finished, Hacker took it for a test-drive with Max and Digit as his passengers. But they weren't allowed on the bridge. Hacker had taken some time to build a brig and he stuffed both prisoners inside.

The _Grimm Wreaker_ not only served as a mode of transportation, but it also had a bedroom for Hacker and battery-charging station for the two robots. Max and Digit had to live in the brig. Occasionally he brought them up to do something. But, there was a time when he brought Max up, but not Digit. And his intentions weren't friendly.

0

Buzz and Delete walked around Max, checking the chains around her ankles to make sure they were short enough to keep her from lunging at Hacker. Max ignored them, her eyes on Hacker who was strutting back in forth in front of her. She couldn't help but question his attire, for he was dressed head-to-toe in an ugly, two-piece, yellow suit. The hood was down on the suit and he covered his hands with a pair of black gloves. One hand was behind his back and a wide grin over his face told Max to be wary.

"I bet you're wondering why I called you here for." Hacker said.

"That thought does cross my mind." Max admitted.

"I've brought you here because of this . . ." He held up his right hand which contained a mound of blue, glowing crystals. "Know what this is?"

Max took a very small step back. "Magnetite." she said.

"That's right. Magnetite." Hacker said. "Know what it does?"

"It does a lot of things, but its major application is to crash a harddrive." Max said.

"Exactly." Hacker said. "Know what happens when a harddrive crashes?"

"A lot of things happen." Max said. "Accelerating aging, oversized appendages, poison-ivy-like bumps."

Hacker stopped strutting. "Why yes. I'm surprised you know so much about this. You're making my ability to gloat . . . difficult."

Max gave him a smile, but her eyes still reflected a small amount of worry. "I'm glad to be such a nuisance."

Hacker curled his lip at her. "You know, you're a lot like your creator."

"My father. I'm a lot like my father. Get it right."

Hacker made no response to that. Instead, he continued pacing. "Did you know that some borgs are actually immune to its effects?" Max nodded. "Did you also know that the side-effects of Magnetite actually varies from person to person?" Max nodded, again. Hacker looked down at the mound in his hand. "I wonder what it would do to you. I'm curious to know if you're part of the two-percent that's immune to it – or part of the ninety-eight percent that will malfunction."

"I'd rather not find out." Max told him.

"Ah, but I want to find out. Besides, there is a one in a thousandth chance that you won't be effected by it."

"And the other point nine-hundred ninety-nine?"

"I suspect something will happen to you."

"You're wasting your time. When I was on Shangri-La, one of the first things I had to undergo was Magnetite immunization. In other words, that stuff won't affect me."

"I don't think I am wasting my time, Max. Now that you've told me that, I have to assume you didn't complete the course."

"I did complete it."

"Ah, but I can also assume there was a limit to how much they could present you with. I have read that there is a legal limit of measuring units which any borg can endure. Even those Warriors cannot legally bend the rules when it comes to an S-ranked dangerous material like this."

"So, how did you get it?"

"Oh, that's right. You and Digit have been in the brig for the last few days, haven't you?"

Max didn't answer that question.

"I located a Cybersite my navi-computer2 called 'Eureka'3. That Cybersite is literally a goldmine. Magnetite virtually grows on that site."

"Yeah. But nobody is supposed to harvest it."

"Why not? If it grows in Cyberspace, doesn't that make it available for use by anybody?"

"Yes, but that stuff is unpredictable. That's why Magnetite is illegal. Nobody wants to mess with the stuff and why nobody will harvest it. They don't want to take a chance their hard drives will crash."

"I'm willing to take that chance. After all, I came prepared. I'm wearing protection. I'm not taking any chance _my_ hard drive will crash."

"I see that."

"But you aren't protected. So, I wonder what will happen if I do this . . ."

He threw a few pieces of Magnetite at Max. Nothing happened. He threw a few more pieces – these landed closer to Max's feet than the others. Still nothing. He grabbed small handful and threw it at her.

"Look at that. Something's happening. Apparently you're not as immune to it as I thought." Hacker said.

"What?" Max asked.

Hacker pointed and Max looked down and gasped. Her hands and feet were white and lines crisscrossed over her skin. The whiteness spread up her legs to her hips and up her arms to her shoulders. As it spread, her skin stretched and bulged out. Claws sprouted on her fingers and toes which curled in on themselves as soft, white pads formed.

"I wonder what will happen if I throw the rest at you." Hacker said. He tossed the rest in an underhanded throw and that was when the changes really took shape.

The whiteness spread up her neck and torso. Lines etched themselves on her ever-expanding flesh. Her nightshirt was turned to shreds and her knees reversed directions. She fell on her hands which had become paws. Wings grew out of her shoulder blades and a ridge of raised bone thrust upward out of her back. Her hair turned white and her eyes turned pink. A tail shot out of her haunches and a four-sided barb formed. Horns curled out of her forehead and her ears slid up to the top of her head while her face bulged out and fangs filled her mouth.4

For the most part, Max managed to keep her expressions straight. But once all the outside appearances were finished, the inside appearances began changing.

Max grunted in pain and fell forward. She twitched and kicked the wall. Then, she started whimpering. And her whimpers turned into a down-right scream. A scream which even sent shudders down Hacker's spine.

1

Digit didn't know how long he sat there on the floor of the brig alone. He knew that Max had been gone for far too long and he didn't like it at all. He started worrying.

_Where are you Max?_ he thought, looking up at the drop shaft above his head. _What's going on?_

He was thinking about getting up and start pacing but before the action could have been carried out, the drop shaft opened and something large and white fell in. Digit dived out of the way while the thing landed by him with an "_oof!"_ The shaft closed with a creak and Digit was left alone with the thing.

He slowly approached and touched it with his wing; his feathers came in contact with smooth, sharp scales. Digit felt around the scales and located the object's shoulder and felt along the ridge of what could only be a wing. As his wing came down, he came in contact with a mass of hair and a leonine ear. His wing moved to the left and found a hard, smooth horn that curved upward and ended in a sharp point. His wing moved down and he located a broad muzzle. As he stepped closer, he tripped over a tail and was almost impaled by the sharp barb when an enormous paw came up, held him gently by the chest, and moved him carefully off to the side. In the dim light from above, Digit saw a pair of blazing, pink eyes through a mess of colorless mane.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The beast sat up and stretched, then looked down at him. "Who do you think I am, Didge?" she asked.

Digit stared at her. "Max?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"Max! How . . . how did this happen? You left as a borg and now you're a-a –"

"I'm a gargoyle now, Didge."

"A gargoyle? How?"

"Magnetite."

"Magnetite? What's that?"

"A viscous material that effects all cyborgs within a four-foot range. At first I seemed immune to it but then, the side-effects started kicking in. I was turned into this - something unheard of since Magnetite has drastically changed someone's appearance. Other than giving someone an aged appearance or big feet, never had Magnetite ever made a cyborg change species before." Max said.

"So, why did it happen to you?" Digit asked. "Why did you change into a gargoyle?"

Max shrugged. "I don't know. Magnetite effects everyone differently. Some borgs experience only a little change, some not at all. For me, the change was complete. My harddrive crashed5 and I completely changed species."

"Is there any way for you to change back?"

That was the big question. Max already knew the answer to that question. A few years back, Mathias had done a study on Magnetite and he let Max read his results. There had been a few scientists that believed they could come up with a cure or reversal potion for the effects of Magnetite. The only difficult part of going about to do that was knowing where to start. So far, nobody had come up with a cure, and even if a cure was made, chances were it couldn't be used for extreme cases of damage. Also, the longer the damage remains, the harder it is to get rid of.

"No." she said. "There is no chance. I'll be like this for the rest of my warranty."

"If Hacker doesn't kill you first, that is."

Max held her breath. "Yeah. If Hacker doesn't kill me first." she agreed. She curled up in a corner and opened her paws to Digit who climbed in and folded himself into the wide hollow of her throat. "Let's make the most of it while we can."

"Yeah. Let's make the most of it." Digit said just before sleep-mode kicked in.

* * *

1"I kill you." - Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity

2Navi-computer – Star Wars reference; short for Navigational Computer

3Eureka – Homesite of Professor Archimedes

4Reference to Animorphs

5"Magnetite effects everyone differently. Some borgs experience only a little change, some not at all. For me the change was complete. My harddrive crashed . . ." - direct quote from Coop in "Measure for Measure", episode 405


	10. Near Death

_Chapter Ten. It's the perfect length. exactly how I wanted it to be. Too bad not all my chapters can end up like this.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Ten  
Near-Death

Digit thought Max's change from borg to gargoyle was both terrifying and interesting. And he thought this for a variety of reasons. First of all was the fact she had retained pretty much all of her personality and brainpower. At the same time, she also obtained a few gargoyle-esk personality traits which could have been considered scary. If she was pleased, she would start purring and licking. If she was upset, she would growl, snarl, and snap. Usually she purred and licked Digit. She growled at Buzz and Delete and saved the snarling and snapping for Hacker.

The reason behind the strangeness was because even though Max had retained a lot of her old self, Digit still woke up in the morning next to something that wasn't the borg he remembered. But he had to admit the new Max was a bit of an improvement from the borg one in a strange, majestic sort of way. When he saw her for the first time in the florescent light of the Wreaker, Digit had to admit she was impressively built, though since he had never seen a gargoyle before, he had nothing to compare to.

Her body was beautifully streamline, light, and muscular; perfect for running and flying. But while there was an impressive and majestic side to her, there was a sinisterly dangerous side to her, too, as Digit overheard Hacker tell Buzz and Delete.

"A gargoyle has the jaw pressure of seven-hundred pounds and can crush a steel rod between their molars." Hacker told his two henchmen when they asked what was so dangerous about Max now. "A gargoyle's claws can tear through sheet of iron and the tail barb will rip through a plate of platinum like tissue paper. If she gets a hold of you two, her teeth will do short work of you."

The two bots had been sufficiently frightened of Max after that. But not enough for Delete to ask about the reason behind Max's horns.

"It's part of a territorial threat display. Gargoyle horns vary between male and female. Females – or cows – has a set of shorter horns. Males – or bulls – have longer and thicker horns that curl around their ears." Hacker said. He was obviously annoyed the two duncebuckets knew nothing about gargoyles. "If she were to ram you, you would be crushed flat."

After that, the robots were officially afraid of Max. At least when she was loose. Even Hacker had reason to fear Max now that she had changed size and species. For that reason, alone, he felt the need to keep Max under his thumb. To show her who was boss. While he was reading up on old battles between borgs and gargoyles, he came across a popular weapon. A weapon which made him smile. At the same time, it caused Digit to worry and Max to lose much of her sanity.

0

Max had no idea how she ended up on the deck of the _Grimm Wreaker_ when she had fallen asleep in the dungeon with Digit cradled in the hollow of her throat. She also had to wonder how anyone managed to haul her 246-pound body out of the dungeon and up the stairs to the deck. While those thoughts disturbed her, what she woke up to disturbed her even more.

All four legs, as well as her tail, were chained and fettered to a wall. Her wings were fully-encased in a sheet of heavy metal which pinched the joints together – making it impossible to move them let alone fly – and were held to her body with a thick coil of steel cable which was wrapped around her shoulder, chest, back, stomach, and waist; effectively pinning the membrane to her body.

Max struggled against the straps wound around her head, holding a metal rod behind her molars; creating a crude bridle. Max knew the bridle served a double purpose. Not only did it keep her from talking back, but also prevented her from biting – as she was prone to doing without warning.

Hacker leered at her, a two-pronged pole clenched in both hands. Buzz and Delete sported similar poles. Max didn't like the look of this situation.

"You've caused me a lot of trouble these last few months, Max. A _lot_ of trouble. I don't like that. You cost me a lot of time with all your trouble-making, and that's time I should have been spending trying to take over Cyberspace."

Max opened her mouth as far as the bridle allowed and let out a low growl – a difficult feat as the rod in her mouth blocked much of her esophagus, thus forcing her to resort to breathing through her nasal passages.

Hacker smiled at the strangled sound she managed through the bit. "Aw, what's wrong? Can't threaten me like usual?"

Max gave no response except letting her eyes narrow to cold, ruby slits.

Hacker began pacing, a gloating smile hovering over his pointy chin. "I'm sure you'll find this punishment to be far worse than the ones I had ever done to you before."

Max still gave no response. The slitty-eyed, I-kill-you look continued. The fact Max did nothing more than glare at him annoyed Hacker. He stopped pacing and began tapping the pole in his hand. Buzz and Delete took a step toward Max.

"Ever since you received this new look, Max, I started looking into ways of hurting you since the old ways simply won't work on you any more. You'll be interested to find that gargoyles have one major weakness."

He pressed a button on his pole and the tip sparked. Then, Max knew the poles were really cattle prods, and high-voltage ones at that.

"Electricity." Hacker said. "They say electricity is deadly to a gargoyle. Voltage like this could scramble your nerves. That ought to be fun to watch."

Max managed another strangled growl as the two bots and the funnel-chested borg approached; sparking cattle prods aloft. After that, she didn't remember too much except trying to scream. She alternated between strangled screams and choking on her own vomit. Unable to stand the pain anymore, Max lost consciousness.

1

Digit was deeply concerned when he woke up to cool metal and no warm gargoyle body behind him. He didn't know how long Max had been gone and he couldn't hear anything except for a sizzling sound somewhere on the deck. Then, there was silence.

Digit unconsciously began chewing on his wingtips. _What's going on up there? What's happened to Max? What is Hacker doing to her?_

Just then, the dropshaft opened again and Max fell through the hole. Her body made a dull thud as it hit the floor and the shaft closed above them. Digit reached out a wing and touched Max's immobile shoulder, shocked when he felt deep indentations in her skin, especially across her muzzle. Aside from a soft growl – which sounded choked – Max made no sounds and Digit leaned against her.

_Max. What's he done to you?_ Digit thought as tears brimmed, unbidden, to his eyelids.

He lay over her prone form, waiting for her to respond. Her body heat and harsh breathing the only indication she was still alive. He didn't know how long he lay there but he wished Max would at least move. He knew Hacker wanted to kill Max, but whenever Hacker took Max away, he always returned her in less-than-perfect condition. But, at least he knew she would be okay. This scared him. She wasn't responding. She wasn't even moving. Her chest barely rose and fell.

Digit pressed an ear to her chest and heard the dull _thump thump . . . thump thump . . . thump thump . . . thump thump _of her heartbeat. He wrapped a wing over her neck and buried his face into her thick mane.

_Please be alright! Please! I beg you, Max! Don't die and leave me here all alone! I don't know what I'm going to do without you! Please! Wake up!_

He didn't know how long they lay there, Digit silently sobbing over her – silently so as not to draw Hacker's attention to them. He didn't know what he would do, but he was sure that if he saw Hacker's leering face he wouldn't be able to stop himself from throttling him.

Finally, Max gave a grunt and her head moved. Digit looked up and rubbed a wing over his eyes.

"Max?" he said.

She opened one ruby eye and looked at him. "I feel terrible."1 she said.

Digit gave a weak laugh and sniffed with relief. "You look terrible." he said. He smoothed back a long lock of colorless mane from her face. "You look like you were in the middle of a static storm."

"You could say that. He and the duncebuckets just attacked me with cattle prods." Max said.

"What? Why?"

Max explained that electricity was dangerous for gargoyles. Then told him about how Hacker had her tied up, even mentioning the crude bridle and how she almost asphyxiated on her own vomit.

"Are you okay?"

"It'll take more than that to kill me." Max said.

"Max, he almost did kill you. You've been out for hours and I've been worried you were dead." Digit pointed out.

Max stretched out her neck and gently licked Digit's beak tip with her dainty, pink tongue. "I'm sorry I worried you Digit."

He leaned against her. "I'm tired of this. I want this all to end and I want it to end now. I'm tired of you vanishing all the time only to come back in worse condition than when you left. I'm tired of worrying about you all the time. I'm tired of trying to take care of you all the time and wondering if you're going to be okay. Max, I want to run away and I want to run away now."

Max looked up at the slim light peeking through the gap in the drop shaft. "I'm tired of all of it too. He's been trying to prove to me he's in control, but I won't bend to his will. He wants to kill me, but doing it would be too easy. I'm not exactly sure if he has the gall to do it yet."

"He almost did. Just now, he almost did." Digit said.

She looked at him. "I know."

He grabbed her paw. "Max, please. Let's leave. Let's get out of here now."

"We can't right now, Didge. I'm sorry. I'm too weak. Moving and talking hurts. Remember, I almost asphyxiated on my own vomit. Everything hurts." She took her paw away and gently patted him on the head. "We will escape, Didge. But not tonight. I'm not strong enough right now."

"When?"

"Soon."

"How soon is soon?"

"I'll let you know."

By Max's tone, Digit knew he could trust her.

* * *

1"I feel terrible." - Direct quote by Han Solo in Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back


	11. Run away

_Chapter Eleven. It's a little short. I contemplated whether or not I actually wanted to add onto it since I already had the last three chapters fleshed out, but i figured that was a good stopping place for now. don't worry, you'll get the next chapter in due time. maybe tomorrow. Footnotes are there just like before. enjoy.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Eleven  
Run Away

Ever since Digit's first encounter with Max, he had to admit he had always considered Max as strong, resilient, and sturdy. In many ways, her gargoyle body was an improvement to her borg one. She was much more strong, resilient, and sturdy. And, she was a quick healer.

By the next morning, Max had overcome the effects of electrical poisoning. She was up before Digit, completing strange and elaborate stretches that defied any logical explanation. Then, the shaft above them opened.

"Come on up, you two." Hacker said, throwing down a sturdy ladder.

Digit climbed up first and moved out of the way to make room for the cyborg-gargoyle's massive form. Max completely ignored the ladder and jumped up through the opening of the shaft; landing on all fours with great grace. Together, the two prisoners followed Hacker onto the bridge.

The bridge was an elaborately designed control station with glowing panels and computer stations. Hacker's recharger chair was situated directly in front of a large view screen which was now pointing at Cybersite Valussa1.

Valussa was, fundamentally, a power-plant site. And, with the help of Hacker's tampering, it was completely pitch black. Hacker seemed overly proud of his most recent accomplishment.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"What do I think? I think this is an extremely heinous crime. To relieve Valussa of its power is the same thing as darkening all of Cyberspace." Max told him. She looked angry and appalled, but her relaxed stance told Hacker he was safe from a possible pounding.

"Exactly." Hacker said. "It's a superb plan for chaos and cacophony. And this is only the beginning. After this, I will spread more chaos all throughout Cyberspace and soon, everyone will know the name of The Hacker."

"Everyone already knows your name. Remember? You used to go to meetings with my dad." Max pointed out.

Hacker, though surprised Max wasn't being her usual mouthy self, shrugged off her point with a wave of his hand. "A minor technicality. They knew me then as Marbles' assistant. But, I shall make a new name for myself. One worth living up to. And one that will surpass even your own famous father's, for that matter."

Max plopped down on her haunches, her front legs gently straddling Digit. She didn't comment on Hacker wanting to make a name for himself and, instead, appealed to his ego. He, no doubt, wanted to talk about this triumph very badly.

"How did you do it, anyway? How did you turn Valussa so dark?"

He laughed. "It was quite easy, actually. See, Valussa's power runs completely off the rays of their moon. No matter what phase the moon is in – except for the new moon – the Site's lunar panels absorb the moon's rays to turn it into energy. The entire Site can run off a single night's charge for the entire day."

"I _was_ aware of how Valussa gets its power." Max said, interrupting Hacker's tirade. "What I wanted to know was how you managed to take away its lunar energy."

"Oh that! Why didn't you say so, Max?" Hacker cackled again.

Max nudged Digit with a paw and he looked up at her. "_Take note of this."_ she whispered.

"As I am sure you are aware, I had designed and constructed a tractor beam aboard this vessel which allows me to move whatever objects I so desire. In this case, the object was Valussa's moon. However, not only did I move it, I also moved it out of orbit."

"What would that do?" Digit asked.

Max already knew the answer to that one. "Valussa's lunar panels are around the Site's perimeter. Each panel can absorb only two hours worth of moonlight at a time. And, since the moon keeps a regular orbit, each panel gets a regular share of the lunar rays. However, there is a maximum distance in which the moon's rays can reach Valussa. If you move the moon even the smallest bit out of orbit, the rays won't reach the panels at all."

"Correct." Hacker said. "You've done your homework, haven't you?"

"It was just one of the lessons Dad taught me." Max said, simply.

Hacker didn't particularly like that Marbles actually taught Max something so he ignored that response.

"I'm going to leave you two here and marvel at this wonder of wonders. Maybe then you will know who really deserves to be ruler of Cyberspace." Hacker said. "Don't try anything funny." With that, Max and Digit were left alone.

Digit took a moment to stare out at the darkened Site, then looked up into Max's pensive face. "What do we do, Max?"

"We help the citizens of Valussa, that's what." Max said.

"How?"

The cyborg-gargoyle looked around the room, ears rotating on their pivot points for signs of Hacker's return. Then, she pointed to one of the computer monitors that looked like a communications terminal with a claw.

"Go over there and do exactly what I tell you to." she ordered. She had to speak in a whisper lest Hacker hear her.

Digit softly padded to the terminal and readied his pinions over the keys; waiting for Max's orders.

"Pull up a nine-square grid." she said.

Digit did as was instructed. A tic-tac-toe board appeared on his screen.

"Now, insert three letters of the alphabet in each square." She said, ruby eyes cutting in his direction. "If you only have two letters in the last one, that's okay since there are only twenty-six letters in the alphabet."

Digit did as was instructed. "Now what?" he whispered back.

"Now we work on a code to send to Valussa."

"Why a code?"

"Back in the days when villainy rained supreme and the Warriors of Shangri-La were forced to rise up and stop the evil, the Shield-Maiden and Sword-Thanes used to send codes back and forth between themselves, their allies, and the other Warriors. They used a simple code but only those with the charts could crack them. This code is a little simpler than that because we will be using a universal tongue and not Shangrinese. Only the Warriors know Shangrinese, even now, so the codes then were impossible to crack unless you knew the language."

"So, what should the code say?"

Max had very strong eyesight. With her eyes on the screen and one ear turned toward the door, she told Digit what to put in. This instruction also included how many lines to put in each word, what kind of square to put over each line, and what symbol (▼ * ▲) to put in each square.

"Now, tell me what that says." Max said. She hoped that if Digit with his low IQ could crack the code, the intelligent citizens of Valussa should be able to crack it as well.

"Move moon ray left two feet." he said.

"Good." Max said, allowing a genuine smile. _That was pretty easy._ "Now, send it to the Valussan mayor, Chech'ki."

No sooner had Digit pressed send than Hacker ran in and grabbed Digit by the wing.

"YOU INSIGNIFICANT MOPPET! HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME? I'LL TEACH YOU TO BETRAY THE HACKER!" the enraged borg shouted.

Max leaped up and charged at Hacker, ramming him with her lowered head. Digit broke free of Hacker's grasp just as Max grabbed a loose box with her paw and smashed the viewer window. Then, seizing Digit, she threw him out the window, too.

"Go! Return to Control Central! I'll be right behind you!" Max shouted.

Digit opened his wings and began flying. He heard Max taking off at a run and heard her wings snap open when her feet left the edge of the _Grimm Wreaker_.

Enraged his two prisoners were escaping, Hacker grabbed the one thing he had been dying to use, lifted it to his shoulder, sighted along the barrel . . .

. . . and fired.

Max's pain-filled roar gave Digit the extra thrust he needed to get away from this horrid place. Though he didn't know what he was going to tell Dr. Marbles.

* * *

1Cybersite Valussa – Cyberchase Webisode 1: How it all began


	12. Forever Scarred

_Chapter Twelve. Not much to talk about here. a gargoyle's found on Cybersite Shangri-La. Three technicians are called in to patch her up. ah, hell with it. just go ahead and read it.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine._

* * *

Chapter Twelve  
Forever Scarred

The albino gargoyle no longer felt the pain of having lost her arm, leg, and eye to the horrendous goo fired at her from the _Grimm Wreaker_. The body's natural defense caused the surrounding area to go numb when she felt it for far too long. But, at the same time, her brain began failing from both fatigue and blood loss. Her wing joints hurt from flying too long.

Her time in captivity had not been an educational one for she had not been permitted to fly yet. Once she had decided it was time to fly, she had had to rely purely on instinct; letting her inner-gargoyle take over the flapping and propelling. Now, even that instinct was failing her and all she wanted was for it all to end.

Blood loss took its tole. Her wings stopped pumping and she plummeted down to a Site below; landing in powdery white snow, which would have felt good if she had been conscious enough to feel the cold against her maimed body.

Her mouth went slack and her tongue lolled out, unbidden. She was vaguely aware of the presence of borgs standing over her and she barely felt the gentle fingers of one of the borgs on her feverish skin.

"Some evil has been at work here." the diminutive borg said. He rose and signaled to the others to assist him. "Bind these wounds. Make sure the bandages are tight. Someone, patch her eye. I will ride with her and keep the pressure. Quickly, we do not have much time."

The Warriors scurried around her; wrapping the stubs of limbs with clean, white cloths. A stretcher was brought forth and laid close to the inert gargoyle's body. Then, they slowly rolled the beast onto the gurney – keeping her off her left side – and shouldered the lot. The diminutive Warrior sat on her neck, both hands pressed flat over her face to stop the bleeding.

The gargoyle had unknowingly landed on Shangri-La which couldn't have worked out better. The Warriors of Shangri-La respected gargoyles even to the point of caring for them as needed. This gargoyle was no different.

They carried her all the way to the walled city and carefully deposited her on the bed of the healing tent. Right away, they administered pain medication and cauterized the wounds with soldering irons. Once the blood stopped flowing, they rebandaged her wounds and sent for Master Pi.

The kindly borg stared down at the injured gargoyle, then tentatively touched the uninjured side of her face.

"How did this happen?" he asked his resident Sword-Thane, the Red Warrior.

Red shrugged. "We do not know, Master. We only discovered her in the snow and brought her here. It is the work of an evil borg."

"Yes it is." Pi agreed.

"What do we do, Master?" Red asked. "Surely, she will not want to live out her life like this."

"No, she will not." Pi agreed. "She must be fitted with replacement parts."

"But who would do it? There are not many technicians out there who would be willing to work on a gargoyle. The war between our kind and theirs has left a scar." Red pointed out.

"There is only one borg kind enough to do such a thing. I must contact Dr. Mathias Marbles. He would help."

0

At that exact moment, Digit had returned to Control Central where he was openly greeted by Dr. Marbles and Motherboard, both of whom were more than relieved to have the loveable cyboid back in their presence. But their joy was short lived when Mathias asked for the whereabouts of Max.

Digit's face fell and he moved away from the kindly borg. "Uh, Doc . . . there's something I need to tell you. Max suffered a lot of pain at Hacker's hands. He tortured her with all kinds of things. She wouldn't have been the same anymore."

Mathias gently seized Digit's shoulders. "What happened? Where is my daughter."

"Hacker invented a machine called a de – de – I can't remember the name. It has something to do with the binary code." Digit said.

"Dematerializer?" Motherboard asked.

"Yeah, that's it. Hacker invented a Dematerializer." Digit said, pleased to have remembered the bit about the binary code. But, as his gaze returned to Mathias' face, he realized now was not the time to be joyful. He bowed his head, solemnly. "I'm sorry, Doc. I'm afraid Max and I tried to escape and Max got the brunt of it."

Mathias released his friend, stood up, and took a few steps back. He looked as though Digit had slapped him. Mathias couldn't think of anything other than the fact his little girl was dead.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said.

"Yeah, sorry Doc." Digit said.

"Motherboard, I'll need some time alone, please, if you don't mind." Mathias said.

"Of course, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said.

"I'll take care of Motherboard." Digit offered.

The doc nodded and went to his room.

He still couldn't believe it. Max was dead? Why? Why did she have to die like that? What was the point to killing her?

He sat in the quiet stillness of his dark room. His glasses in his hands and his vision fogged with tears. Max was dead and he had only himself to blame. That horrible truth hit him hard and he laid in a ball on his bed and wept. He didn't know how long he lay there. After several moments of alternating between crying and apologizing to Max, sleep-mode finally claimed him.

Mathias was awakened to a loud beeping from a communications console on his desk. He sat up, wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm, and went to the console. Motherboard's face filled the screen when he switched it on.

"Dr. Marbles, are you alright now?" she asked.

"No, Motherboard. I'm not alright. Max is gone – killed by the same monster I built. I have only myself to blame for her death."

"No, you don't, Dr. Marbles." Motherboard said. If she had arms, she would have hugged him. "You only have Hacker to blame. That is my final say on the subject."

Mathias scrubbed at his eyes. "Thank you, Motherboard."

She smiled. "Are you willing to accept communications today?"

"Communications? From whom?"

"Erasmus Pi for one. Ada Lovelace is the other."

"Tell Ada I'm not available right now. As for Erasmus, I don't want to see him either."

"Ada is coming here, right now. She asked for me to send her a Transportal."

Mathias was thunderstruck. "She's coming here? I can't let her see me like this!"

"She wants to see you, Mathias, no matter what you look like." Motherboard said.

"And, Erasmus?"

"He says it's urgent. He has a project he would like you to look into. He said he'll pay for everything. Parts, technology, the whole bit."

Mathias let out a sigh. "Very well, I will see him."

Motherboard's face was replaced with Master Pi's and Mathias suddenly wished it wasn't.

"Doctor." Pi said, nodding.

"Master." Mathias said, returning his nod.

"I have an interesting project for you. It will be a challenge, but I believe it will be right up your alley." Pi said.

"Erasmus, not to be rude, but I don't really feel up to doing anything right now." Mathias said.

"Oh?"

"I just found out today that Max has been deleted. Destroyed by Hacker."

"Ohhh." Pi said. He nodded solemnly. "My condolences. Shangri-La feels the loss, too. If you feel up to taking on the project, please let me know."

"What _is_ the project?"

"We discovered a maimed gargoyle near the Bellowing Hills. She is missing some rather important body parts. Since few technicians would be willing to take on this project, naturally you were the first to come to mind."

"I'm glad you thought of me first." Mathias said. "However, I don't think I understand. What _is_ the project?"

"The gargoyle is missing both limbs on her left side as well as her left eye. We were hoping you would build replacement parts for her."

"Replacement parts for a gargoyle, huh? Okay, I'll look into it."

"Excellent. We'll see you then." Pi said, logging off.

Mathias had shed his jacket before taking a nap. He grabbed it and put it on, then grabbed two dufflebags from beneath his bed. He filled one with extra clothes and toiletries, then headed to his workshop where he filled the other dufflebag with relevant files, records, drawing tools, anatomy books, and the like. Then, after dumping his tools in his toolbox, he hefted the lot and went up to the Control Center.

Ada Lovelace was already in the control room having a long conversation with Motherboard. When the doors hissed open, both women stopped speaking and looked at Mathias. Ada opened her arms to her beloved boyfriend. They embraced and Mathias sniffed and gently sobbed in her shoulder.

"Motherboard told me what happened. I'm really sorry about Max." Ada said.

"Thank you, Ada." Mathias said. He gently leaned away from her and rubbed his eyes.

"Dr. Marbles, are you planning on leaving?" Motherboard asked.

"Affirmative, Motherboard. Erasmus has requested my presence on Shangri-La. Apparently, he has a project that must be taken care of. At least, it will take my mind off Max." Mathias said.

"Can I come with you?" Ada asked.

Mathias regarded her, uncertain whether or not he actually wanted her there. "I suppose I could use another set of eyes and hands for this project." he said, finally.

"What about me, Doc? What can I do?" Digit asked.

Mathias pulled a page out of his pocket and handed it to the ever-loyal cyboid. "Here's a list of things I was going to do these next few weeks. If you would be so kind as to complete them, I would be grateful. You are free to contact me whenever you please if there are any problems, of course."

He opened a bag and tossed Digit a SQWACK Pad. Then with Ada on his arm, the two of them headed down to the launch bay and selected a two-seater Cybercoop. They stopped at Ada's homesite and picked up a bag of clothes and supplies for her before heading off to Shangri-La.

1

Aside from their friendship with the gargoyles, Shangri-La was also known for its hospitable manner toward any guests it received. Mathias and Ada were immediately admitted into their city. A Warrior named Percival showed them to their room and waited for them to get situated. Then, Percival took the two to the Temple of Care where the two borgs were met by a grisly sight.

The gargoyle was big and white. Her great wings fastened to her body with strips of tape to keep her from flying off and her barbed tail peeked over the edge of the bed the Warriors laid her on. A sheet covered her from neck to toe and was quite limp in areas it shouldn't be. She was laying on her right side, leaving her left side exposed. Her face had a gauze patch fastened over it, which was sealed in place with a wrap that also covered her forehead.

When Mathias and Ada entered the room, the gargoyle stirred. Mouth moving, right paw clenched and unclenched around the sheets. Right hind-paw kicked the footboard of the bed, tail flicked around, and wings stretching against their bonds. Her ears twisted on their pivot points and her head moved in their direction.

"Dad? Daddy? Is that you?" she asked. "It hurts, Daddy! It hurts! Please! Someone! Stop the pain!"

The gargoyle tried to get up and the Warriors wasted no time falling on her and holding her down while Red injected her with a sedative. She relaxed and moved no more.

Ada's grip on Mathias' arm tightened. "Mathias, you didn't tell me the project was a gargoyle with half a face!" she said.

Mathias shrugged. "Slipped my mind, my dear." he said, gently. He had been quite shaken by these turn of events. The gargoyle had yelled for her father and she had used the same titles Max used to use.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea." Mathias said. He turned to leave and found his way blocked by Pi.

"Please, Dr. Marbles. I have asked so little of you in the eons we have known one another. Please. This project is important."

Mathias looked back at the sleeping gargoyle, then back at Pi, then at Ada. "What do you think, my dear?" he asked.

"It's up to you, Darling." Ada said.

Mathias opened his dufflebag and handed Ada his drawing tools.

"Initiating repair sequence."

Mathias located his tape measure and Ada sat down with her notebook, ready to take measurements. Mathias first measured the length of the gargoyle's front leg, then width and diameter. Then, he measured her back leg. When that was finished, he looked at the gargoyle's face.

"How much of that portion is gone?" he asked.

"See for yourself." Red told him. He cut the bandage off and gently peeled the tape holding the gauze pad away.

Mathias blanched and Ada covered her mouth with her hand. Where the gargoyle's eye had been was a massive, gaping hole stretching from forehead to cheek.

The doc swallowed, took a picture of the hole with his SQWACK Pad, and measured the opening, then motioned for the Warriors to seal the hole back up. After that, the planning process began.

0

The task of making replacement parts for a gargoyle was relatively easy. Mathias called his friend, Professor Ephraim Archimedes in to help as well. Ephraim was excited about the project, but he was less optimistic about the idea when he found out it was for a gargoyle. Mathias told Ephraim he was going to continue with the project with or without his help and Ephraim jumped right in to help.

Ada left Shangri-La to pay a visit to the Cybrary, returning with a stack of books on prosthetic body parts. After hours of poring over the books, they made the discovery that prosthetic body parts were virtually the same internally. Ephraim made a few adjustments here and there on their blue-prints so the structure was more gargoyle-like.

The three technicians went to work building the internal structure and the Shangri-La metal smiths went to work making unbreakable metal which they molded into the shape of the gargoyle's paws and legs. A web of metal wire was pressed against the still-hot metal and, when it was peeled away, the end result resembled a scale-like pattern very much similar to the gargoyle's own skin.

Further study of gargoyle anatomy revealed that claws on all four legs were retractable so they rigged a mechanism with four claws that could be sheathed and unsheathed at will. Only the dewclaw remained immobile. After wrapping the metal casing around the mechanical structure, the Warriors took the gargoyle into surgery to begin the fitting. A cuff was fitted around the stumps and the gargoyle's nerves were hooked to wires which, in turn, were plugged into receivers around a socket. The limbs both ended with a peg which plugged into the socket, received signals from the brain and moved the appropriate part.

When surgery was over and the gargoyle had awakened, Mathias sat in with her and told her which part to move. After a few mistakes were mended by simply switching a few wires around, Mathias deemed the parts workable. The arm and leg were working to perfection and the gargoyle reported the parts were also working at what felt like a natural speed.

"It'll just take some time get used to, is all." she said in a tone that surprised Mathias. Gargoyles were reportedly unreasonable and impatient. This one didn't act like a gargoyle at all. She acted like . . . like a cyborg.

Mathias reached up to fondle the leonine ear only to hesitate when she eyed him. Then, she brushed her head at his fingertips. The gargoyle tilted her head to the left and a purr of pleasure escaped her half-open mouth. Mathias smiled and ran his fingers through her mane, gently scratching at her skull. The purrs grew into a growl which did not sound threatening in the least. Mathias' grin widened, but when he saw the gauze patch over her eye, he stopped rubbing and scratching.

The design for the prosthetic eye had posed a hefty problem. Since the organic eye and the area surrounding it was gone, there was no way to set a fake eye inside the hole without there being something to hold it in place. Ephraim suggested just leaving a patch in place to prevent infection but Ada didn't think that was right and Mathias thought of it as a challenge. Ephraim wanted to stop the project because he wasn't sure if there was an optic nerve left – they couldn't see on in the SQWACK Pad image.

Mathias put his hands in his lap. The gargoyle stopped purring and stared at him a moment, then nudged his knuckles with the tip of her pink nose. An action that wasn't unlike a dog wanting to be petted.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, gently.

"Affirmative. We are not completely sure how to go about giving you a new eye. Normally, we would have made an eye and put it in the socket, but there was too much damage done to the socket. The eye would just slide further in."

"Why not make a patch that fit around the socket? That way, the eye would fit in the socket and could move and work like a real eye."

The gargoyle's suggestion startled Mathias. _An intelligent gargoyle?_ The reason that response surprised Mathias so much was because gargoyles were listed as being the least intelligent beings in Cyberspace. They did no science. They had no technology to speak of. They did not do any drawing or designs. The fact one gargoyle would ever come up with an idea that made sense made Mathias question whether or not this was an ordinary gargoyle.

He gently stroked her muzzle, noticing how his fingers rolled off the quickly-forming scars ribbing her nose. "That could work." he said.

"I hope so. I sighted with my left eye." she said with a grin.

Mathias smiled, too. He liked this gargoyle and her spunk. She reminded him of Max.

Mathias stopped smiling. He didn't like thinking about Max. Her death left a hole in his circuit board.

A pink tongue gently touched Mathias' hand with a lick. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine." he said. "Thank you for the suggestion. We will look into it."

"Okay." she said, letting his answer slide, though she looked like she wanted to know more.

1

Mathias, Ada, and Ephraim took the gargoyle's suggestion to heart. Ada drew up the design for the prosthetic eye on a sheet of blue-print paper and Mathias wrote down the dimensions. When it was finished, the page was passed off to the smiths who molded the metal to the exact measurements indicated. They even produced two small, half-spheres which would later be welded together.

Using information written in a section about prosthetic eyes, Ephraim – who was a genius when it came to micro-technology – constructed the entire inside of the eye. When he was finished, they inserted the technology into the two half-spheres, welded it together, and passed it all off to the Warriors who took her into surgery and finished with her face.

The eye, itself, had posed a particular problem as it turned out she had an optic nerve but it was too short to join with the eye. Ada came up with a slew of tiny wires wrapped together in an anti-biodegradable rubber. She joined the wires with the eye and topped it with a small cap which they joined with the optic nerve.

Then they wrapped her face with gauze and returned her to her room. Two days passed before the gargoyle was allowed up and out of her bed. She wandered around Shangri-La, getting a feel for her new limbs. The eye was still out of commission, at least until the skin around it was no longer red and inflamed from the soldering iron. The Warriors suggested she try to fly just to test out the structure inside her paws, but she said she wanted her eye before she would try that.

On the third day, they unwrapped her face. The three techs, together with Red and Pi, held their breaths.

The eye was perfect. They had shaped the patch to fit over the gap, overlapping it so it stretched into flesh and bone. The eye was shaped like a little, round ball and worked just like a camera, but it could also rotate inside the hollow socket in perfect synchronization of her other eye. A pair of shutters were incorporated to act like eyelids, and the shutters were, at the moment, closed.

Mathias slowly approached the gargoyle and touched her just behind the leonine ear. She rumbled in her throat but made no move to shake his hand off. He had a sneaking suspicion she actually liked having his hand on her head.

"Are you alright?" Mathias asked her.

"Yes." she said, nodding.

"Excellent." he said. "Now, this prosthetic eye has a simple mechanism which should act like your biological eyelids."

"Should?"

"Will."

"That sounds better. But I'm still worried about what I'll see." she told him.

Mathias rubbed the ear, automatically going with the scales lest they tear the skin off his hand. "If we did this right, you should be able to see just fine."

"There you go with that 'should' word again. Remember, Mathias, this is about getting me well enough to roam Cyberspace again. Words like 'should' won't help me." she said.

Mathias stared at her. "How did you know my name is Mathias?" he asked.

"You'll be surprised by the things I know." she said.

Mathias wanted to press her with more questions but decided to hold off until later. "Anyway, if we did this right, you will be able to see just fine."

"That's better." she said. "Can I open it now?"

"If you want to." Mathias said.

They waited and the shutters opened. A yellowish light appeared where the lens was and focused on everyone in the doorway.

"Whoa!" she said.

"What? What do you see?" Ada asked.

"Everything." the gargoyle responded. She raised her left arm and examined it. "Everything."

"Eureka! It was a success!" Ephraim said, in his thick, highland accent.

The gargoyle smiled at him. "Yes it was. Thank you, Professor Archimedes for helping. And thanks to you too, Lady Ada Lovelace and Dr. Mathias Marbles. I would still be unwhole if you three hadn't come along."

"It was our pleasure." Ada said. She approached and touched the gargoyle's other ear. The gargoyle responded with a purr.

"Would you like to fly now?" Red asked.

The gargoyle nodded and strutted past them to an open field. They followed her out and watched as Cyrus, one of the quiet, tall Warriors cut tape from her wings. She sat on her haunches and experimentally stretched her wings; flexing them and tested the way they flapped. Then, she turned to Mathias.

"Want a lift?" she asked.

Mathias stepped back. "No thank you." he said.

"I won't let you fall, if that's what you're worried about." she told him.

Mathias thought about it. He looked at his two partners. "What do you think?" he asked.

"Better you than me." Ephraim said. "I can't hold on like you."

There was a lot of truth in that. Ephraim was shaped like a levitating pyramid with no legs. His arms and hands were long, thin, and not very strong. He had pale skin, bright eyes, and a mop of blondish hair. He was dressed in a blue lab coat over a green shirt.

"Whatever you want to, my dear." Ada said.

Mathias looked at the gargoyle. "Let's proceed." he said.

She lowered herself onto her belly and he leaped aboard; straddling her neck with both knees. He looked at the mass of white mane and spiraling horns in front of him.

"What do I hang on to?" he asked.

"Horns are a good bet. But if you want to, you can weave your fingers through my mane." she said.

Mathias knotted the long mane around his knuckles and held on. "Like this?" he asked.

"Yep. You an squeeze as hard as you want . . . I don't care." she said.

Two Warriors came forward with a length of rope. They looped it behind her forepaws, knotted it around Mathias' ankles, and tied it around her neck.

"Ready?" the gargoyle asked.

"Ready." Mathias said. He sucked air and held it in.

She took off at a run. Her powerful legs pounding the grass and she released a rhythmic grunt with each footfall. Then, at the sixth stride, her wings opened with a snap and she flapped her way into the sky. She circled around in the sky, wings beating to keep altitude and Mathias relaxed.

"What do you see?" he asked.

"The sky. The sand. All the Warriors below me. Ada and Ephraim. It looks like they're all waiting to hear some good news."

"Yes, I'm certain they are." Mathias said. He leaned close to her. "How did you know the names of my partners, anyway?"

"You'd be surprised at what I know."

"You said that already."

"I know."

They were silent. Then, the gargoyle spiraled into a landing and ran a distance; slowing to a stop. The Warriors rushed forward and untied Mathias from the gargoyle's back.

"You should try it, Ada my dear." Mathias said to his girlfriend. "It is a wonderful experience."

"I'm sure it is, Mathias." Ada said. "But I dislike heights. Maybe another time."

"Whatever you say." the gargoyle said. She flattened her wings to her body and looked around at the Warriors watching her. "Anyone else want to try it?"

No response.

"Okay then. Good night."

"Please wait." Pi said, gently. "There are things I would like to discuss with you. Alone."

"Of course."

With that, the two of them made their way apart from the crowd and began speaking low in Shangrinese – a language known only to the Warriors of Shangri-La and the gargoyles who resided on the neighboring Site, Wyvern1.

"I suppose we should prepare to leave." Ephraim said.

"Good idea." Ada said.

They returned to their rooms and packed. As Mathias was putting things away, there was a knock at the door. Ada opened it to reveal Pi standing there.

"May I enter?" the mysterious master asked.

"Certainly." Mathias said.

Pi entered and faced Mathias. "I have learned a great deal from our guest. One of these is she was a prisoner of Hacker's for some time. In an attempt to escape, he turned a weapon on her called a Dematerializer. That was why she was so badly deformed."

"Oh." Mathias said.

"So, what will happen to her now that she's whole?" Ada asked.

"I have given her a task in return for our help. One I do not think either of you – or Motherboard – will approve of. She is to destroy Hieronymus Hacker." Pi answered.

"What?" Mathias said. "Why would you have her do that? That's like saying its okay to murder!"

"It will not be murder, merely the ending of a corrupt evil. She has assured me her killing spree will end there." Pi said.

"How can you be sure?" Ada asked.

"Because I trust her, as should you."

"Translation?" Mathias said.

"You will soon find out."

"Translation?" Mathias repeated.

Silence.

Mathias folded the last shirt and put it in his duffle. He didn't like the feeling Pi was keeping an important secret from him but there was no way he could persuade Pi to explain his meaning. The Warriors were a mysterious and secretive lot and Pi was the most mysterious and secretive of them all.

"Where will you go from here?" Pi asked.

_So, it's okay for him to ask us questions but not for us to ask him questions? Where's the justice in that?_ Mathias thought. He considered not telling Pi anything but realized that would be rude. Besides, Pi probably had a very good reason why he wouldn't explain his reasons for trusting a non-borg guest.

"Home. But first, I must locate Max's final resting place. I require closure." he said.

"You will not like what you find." Pi said.

"I'll take my chances." Mathias said.

He shouldered both bags, took Ada's hand in his, bade Pi good-bye, and left. On their way to the Cybercoop, they encountered the gargoyle who looked like she was fixing to fly off.

"Hey, Ada . . . Mathias. Thanks again for your help." she said.

"Our pleasure." Ada said.

Mathias nodded but said nothing. He didn't like the way she kept calling him Mathias . . . like she was used to saying it.

"Are you taking off?" he finally said, looking for an icebreaker in the conversation.

"Yeah. Stuff to do out there. People to see. Things to learn." she said.

"Be careful." Mathias said. "We don't want to have to patch you up again."

She grinned. "Will do." With that, she took off.

* * *

1Wyvern – reference to Castle Wyvern in the TV show "Gargoyles"


	13. Truths

_Chapter Thirteen. Yes, this is the last chapter of A Black Heart. I hope it has been written to your satisfaction. Next on the agenda is to write A Sheild-Maiden's Strife, which will be a collaborative effort with my lovely friend, Kawaii Stella. BTW, she is writting a book series called Picking Up the Broken Glass. If you haven't read it yet, I would implore you to read it. Anyway, the two books will be connected so i would have to ask you read both since there will be information in one book that won't appear in the other.  
_

_I don't own Cyberchase. Max is mine.__  
_

* * *

Chapter Thirteen  
Truths

Mathias and Ada made their way across Cyberspace to the exact spot Digit said he last saw Max. Mathias called in an all-stop and the Cybercoop stayed put. Then, he ordered the scanners to begin searching for Max's code. The results surprised him.

Three piles of information appeared on his screen. It contained bits of Max's own binary code, but it was also intermixed with data he vaguely recognized. It took him a moment to understand what he was seeing and he wondered why he hadn't put it together before.

"Mathias? What is that?" Ada asked.

Mathias' jaw tightened and his breath whistled through his mustache.

"It's gargoyle code overlapping cyborg." he said.

"Gargoyle? But I thought you said Max was here!"

"She was." Mathias said. He switched off the scanner and dialed Motherboard in. "Motherboard, I'm coming back. But first, please connect me to Digit."

"Will do." Motherboard said.

"Digit here." the cyboid said, his face filling the screen.

"Digit, I have something I require of you. Please respond truthfully." Mathias said.

"Of course, Doc. What is it?"

"Did Hacker do anything to Max, anything at all?" he asked.

"Well, he beat her, hit her, kicked her, electrocuted her . . ." Digit began.

"Electrocuted her? Why?"

"Well, that's the thing, Doc. Hacker used something called Magnetite on her."

"Magnetite?" Suddenly there was a new piece to the puzzle and it almost fit. "Digit, tell me what happened to Max when her hard drive crashed. Did something out of the ordinary happen to her?"

"Well yeah. She turned into a gargoyle." Digit said.

Mathias was silent as he pieced everything together in his mind. It all fit! How she knew the things she knew! The Dematerializing scenario! How she knew their names! All of it!

"Mathias?" Ada asked.

"Final load." Mathias said, disconnecting.

He wheeled the Cybercoop around and headed for Shangri-La. From there, he traced the gargoyle's route to Cybersite Mobeus. They found her taking a break on the small site and landed away from her. She watched them approach with an expressionless face and waited.

"Why, Ada . . . Mathias, did you forget something?" she asked.

"I require something of you. Please respond truthfully." Mathias said.

The gargoyle sat on her haunches. "Okay. Ask away."

"What is your name?"

She gave him a cocky grin. "So, figured it out now, have you? I wondered when this was going to come up and I'm surprised it hadn't come up sooner. I gave you all the clues to my identity and yet Master Pi figured it out before you did. It's about bloody time you figured it out though. You were supposed to be a genius." she said.

"You haven't answered my inquiry." Mathias pointed out.

"Do I really need to? If you have any questions about my identity, ask me a question you wouldn't think I would know."

Mathias thought about it. "What are the names of all the Warriors of Shangri-La?" _That ought to stump her!_

"Does that include the ones in training?

"Negative."

"Okay." She took a breath. "Red, Jethro, Petrol, Dimitri, Leroy, Thaddeus, Simon, Percival, Cato, Mattimeo1, Blaine, Jodan, Ceasar, Cyrus, Cyril, Amin, Brand, Eli, Ferrid, Garrett, and Jareb." She grinned. "If you wanted to stump me, you would need something more elaborate than that."

Mathias felt his eyes brim with tears. "Max!" he said.

Her one remaining eye brimmed too. "Dad." she said.

The two ran to each other. Mathias flinging his arms around her neck and she placed a paw gently on his back and her muzzle on his shoulder. Ada was still while she tried to understand it all, then rushed in to join them.

"Max!" Ada said.

"Mom!" Max said.

They remained locked together for some time. Then, they broke away and Mathias scrubbed at his eyes.

"I thought you were dead." he said.

Max's neck snaked out and her tongue touched Mathias' face. "Aye. I figured as much. For a moment there I thought I was, too. If the Warriors hadn't found me, I would have bled to death right there in the snow."

"Praise integrated circuits they found you." Mathias said.

Max gave him a small smile. "Yeah. Praise integrated circuits."

Ada rubbed Max's scarring muzzle. "What actually happened to you? I mean, how did you get so badly injured? The stuff to make a Dematerializer is supposed to be temperamental and difficult to control."

"Not supposed to be, Mom. It _is_ temperamental and difficult to control." Max said. "He discovered that if you freeze the gunk, the dematerializing process is placed in suspended animation. He has a special freezing unit on the gun. But once the gunk leaves the barrel, it immediately thaws out. It acts like liquid sap and spreads over any surface it touches.

"When I ran away, he shot me twice. Once in the arm, once on the leg. There was some splatter when it hit my arm and most of it got on my face. That's how I lost my eye. Once those body parts were gone, I was bleeding so profusely I wasn't even thinking straight. I didn't know where I was going or how I would get there. I was slowly losing consciousness from mass blood loss. Eventually, I fell asleep and dropped into the snow. I don't know how they found me but they did. And you know the rest."

Mathias took a step back. "Max." he said.

"You heard what Master Pi wanted me to do, didn't you?" she asked, looking at her father who now stood with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans.

Mathias nodded. "Affirmative. I can't say I approve." he told her.

"I didn't expect you to, actually." Max said.

"Max, I don't like the idea of you being out there trying to destroy somebody. Even if it isn't a good person." Mathias said.

"I know." She nudged him with her muzzle and he leaned into her. "I take no joy in doing what he wants me to do. But it must be done."

"Negative, Max. It doesn't need to be done. You could let it go. Just, let it go."

Max pulled away from him. "Yeah, it does, Dad."

"Max! Just let it go!" Mathias told her.

Max stared at him. Mathias waited and Max began singing.

"Let it go.  
Let it roll right off your shoulder.  
Don't you know,  
The hardest part is over.  
Let it in.  
Let your clarity define you.  
In the end,  
You will only just remember how it feels.

"Our lives are made  
In these small hours.  
These little wonders.  
These twists and turns of fate.  
Time falls away.  
But these small hours,  
These little wonders, still remain."2

Max rubbed her muzzle against him. She loved how much he cared about her, but she couldn't let it go. _He_ had done too much damage to her . . . _He_ had caused her too much pain.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I can't let it go. I'm sorry."

"Max . . . I can understand why you feel you need to do this. But I can't condone what you're planning to do." Mathias said. "I forbid you from carrying out this terrible thing."

He folded his hands behind his back, officiously. Max hated seeing him like this and as much as she respected him, she felt she had to remind him of his position over her before things got out of hand.

"It's not really up to you right now, Dad. Nor is it up to me."

Mathias actually gave her a headtilt. "Translate." he ordered.

"The day Master Pi came to see if I could join the Warriors, I made a promise that I would obey every order given to me by either him or the Red Warrior. I made the same promise the day I left Shangri-La. I promised Master Pi I would answer the gong when it rang. The gong only sounds when there is a mission to be had.

"He rang the gong and I answered. He gave me a mission and I fully intend to carry it out with or without your blessing. Either way, you do not have authority over me in this matter."

Mathias understood. He hung his head. Max didn't like seeing him like this either. She felt guilty pulling the Shangrinese-Warrior card but it was the truth nonetheless. She approached him and rested a paw lightly on his shoulder.

"Dad, please know I love and respect you. I take no joy in knowing I am to take the life of another borg but it must be done. If he can discipline me without a second thought and turn me into a beast using Magnetite, then consider what he can do to another borg. Consider what he can do to you. That's why I have to do it. I have the means and the tools necessary to do this job." Her paw slid to his back and she pulled him into her warm chest. "I don't do this out of disrespect for you, but for the safety of Cyberspace. That much has and always will be of great importance to me."

"Why? Why is this so important to you?" Ada asked.

"Master Pi told me that if I do this one thing – not just for him but also for the entirety of Cyberspace – he can give me my body back. That's all I want is my body and my life back. I want everything back – everything that was taken from me when he took me away." She licked her father and mother gently with her tongue. "Please understand why I have to do this."

"As long as you promise me one thing." Mathias said.

"What's that?"

"That once you destroy him, your desire to destroy will end there."

"Come on, Dad, I'm not a mindless killing machine. I might be a gargoyle now but that doesn't mean I lost all the borg stuff either."

"Promise me!"

Max stared at him long and hard. "I promise."

Mathias looked at the bright, pink eye locked in on his golden-brown eyes, and he knew he could not sway her from her mission. Although he didn't like the idea of Max turning into an assassin, he nodded.

"Okay, Max. I understand. Please, be careful."

"I will." Max said.

They looked up into Cyberspace. Out there, somewhere, was a borg with a black heart.

_**To be continued . . .**_

* * *

1Mattimeo – Son of Mathias the Warrior of Redwall in "Mattimeo", part of the Redwall Series by Brain Jacques, may he rest in peace.

2These are verses from the song "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas


End file.
